Restart my life
by Sleepy robin
Summary: Akihito runs away. Asami business is nearly brought to it's knees. When Akihito returns he is changed so is Asami, will Iove conquer all.
1. Revelation

Restart my life

 _ **Chapter 1: REVELATION**_

Had it all happened three years ago already? Akihito remembered that night: he had been snuggled down underneath some boxes, wearing an all black camo shirt, charcoal pants and dark shoes, with a black baseball cap turned backwards over his head. It had been cold that night, and it had rained a few hours earlier. Akihito was pleased that where he had chosen to make his blind was dry. He hated being cool and damp, but that night had gotten down right cold, and he was seriously thinking he should buy a better coat.

Akihito had his favourite camera with him; he squeezed it reflexively, and made sure once again the flash was off, due to a past mishap.

The wind had howled around him, and he'd shifted a few boxes around him as a windbreak, and then looked through his viewfinder, to make sure the inside of the room was clearly visible. The hotel was upscale, and he was a good distance away.

The rumour was a married politician was having an affair with his secretary. Akihito was happy he'd gotten to the office early when the tip came in, and that Mitarai wasn't going to steal it or get a cut from it. 'Shitty bastard' he thought, as he checked his watch. He'd been sitting there a good forty minutes. When he checked the room again, it had a clear view, although for some reason there was a beveled look to the few test pictures of the room that he had taken already. Akihito shrugged his shoulders and checked out the windows of the room to see if they were the cause of the effect.

'About time.' Akihito thought when he saw movement in the room. A young blond male walked into the room, took his bathrobe off and lay down on the bed. 'Wow' he thought; he'd just assumed it was going to be woman, not a guy.

The young man sat up, and then the door opened. 'Oh. My. Fuckin'. God.' Thought Akihito, as a chill went straight down his spine. He couldn't breathe, in fact, it felt like he was drowning. When he could catch his breath, he had stopped looking through the camera's viewfinder. He didn't want to see anymore; it was just too painful. All that went through his head right at that moment was his own voice, screaming "WHY?!". He did not want to bring the camera up to his face again. With all his strength, he told himself he had to look, to find out what was taking place in there. He had set up the camera to auto fire the shutter release and take pictures, but he decided to switch to 'record' on his camera instead; he could edit out individual shots later.

All Akihito could do was watch. He felt so sick he wanted to throw up. Was he really seeing this? It had to be a joke, right? He laughed bitterly. No, this was really happening; his fingers tightened around the camera's body to stop his hands from shaking.

He had stopped looking through the view finder again. When he gathered up some courage, he looked up. He watched, feeling numb and chilled inside. Akihito just sat there, not moving, all emotion was gone. It must have been thirty minutes when he pulled himself together enough to check his watch. He had twenty minutes before this morning's edition of the paper would go to print.

Akihito braced himself as he reviewed the images of the night; he found two photographs that captured the night's event perfectly. He bit his bottom lip. He was undecided what to do. He had no plans, but he knew that when these photos hit the newsstands in the morning, his life would be over. The next thing he knew, he felt like he was about to throw up. He put his head down, resting it on his hands. Fuckin' hell, why did he take this assignment? Akihito so wished he could go back to two hours ago.

Akihito looked at those two perfect pictures. There it was was again, that slight bevelling effect in the photos, which Akihito couldn't explain. Chewing on his bottom lip, he decided. "Fuck it. Let the consequences fall where they may". he whispered to himself. What was his plan, once the pictures were published? Checking his watch, he saw there were now fifteen minutes to press, no one could stop the images from being published now.

'Sod it'. He emailed the pictures to his editor. Now Akihito felt very alone and abandoned. Tears started falling like rain. Akihito flipped his phone open, and pressed the one autodial number he thought he'd never have to use. But right now, he was the only one who could help him.

"Akihito" the voice smoothly purred over the line. "Good evening. I am very surprised you called. How can I help you?"

Akihito's breath became ragged, his throat felt tight, he was finding it hard to breathe again. "Akihito..." the voice, now concerned, spoke again. "Calm down, just talk. I will help, no matter what. I owe you." He got his breathing under control.

"Feilong", Akihito whispered. "I need to leave... Tokyo tonight, and you are the only one I can trust... now." A small laugh escaped at that thought. There was a slight pause to the call.

"Yes, I can help you, Akihito. Get to the small airfield I'm texting you directions to within forty minutes, my plane will be waiting. I will have someone there to arrange everything, and don't worry if you don't have a passport, we will sort that out later. Now, can you get there in time? I will meet you when you arrive in Hong Kong, and then you can tell me all about it. Okay?

Akihito, I will keep you safe, I promise." Feilong heard a sigh of relief from Akihito.

Akihito checked his watch. "I have to go now... I can make it if I run", thinking it would be safer than going back for his Vespa. Akihito paused. "Thank you... Feilong."

"I will see you in a few hours; you'd better go." The phone call ended. Akihito looked at his watch again, and stuffed his camera in his bag. He pulled a jumper out of the bag and put over his coat to disguise his figure, and started to run.

He ran as if his life depended on it, and hoped he didn't bump into the two body guards he ditched earlier that night. Luckily, the air field was close by, and the plane was ready. He took his phone out, deleted everything on there, and tossed it into the bin. He never thought he would leave Japan, not like this. He swallowed hard, and boarded the plane.

Once in the air, he let out a very long breath, and his eyes fluttered closed. He was tired, emotionally, and physically; tears fell as he closed his eyes. He could feel the betrayal eating it's way through his thoughts. The events of this evening had broken his heart into pieces.

Akihito awoke with a jump, surprised he had fallen asleep. He was a little confused as to where he was, then a flood of memories came streaming back. He was clutching his camera bag to his chest like a lifeline. He was remembering last night's events. A kind looking Chinese woman placed her hand on Akihito's shoulder, startling him from his thoughts. "Sir, the plane will be landing in thirty minutes. Liu Feilong-sama is already waiting for you."

All Akihito could do was blink and nod. He went to the restroom and washed his faced. He sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. His reflection stared back; Akihito looked as pale as a ghost. He giggled at a sudden thought: it was roughly two years ago when Asami had saved him from both Feilong and those fucking Russians. Now, Feilong was saving him from Asami. The irony was not lost on Akihito, not at all. Rubbing his face as he left the restroom and took his seat, he was still holding onto his camera bag as he felt the plane begin its descent.

As Akihito stepped out of the plane to the dawn of a new Hong Kong day, he could see Feilong leaning against his car. He just looked so beautiful, like a model, his black hair fluttering in the early morning air. A smile wryly graced his tired face as he slowly walked over to the car...

Akihito could see Feilong's eyes watching him carefully as he left the plane. Feilong gave a small, pleasant smile as he held out his hand for Akihito to take, then pulled him close, his long elegant body embracing him. For some reason, he just felt safe and warm. That was all it took, and Akihito was crying. Feilong kissed the top of his head, and whispered "You have nothing to fear here. I will protect you, Akihito. You have my word." With that, he pulled away, and made Akihito look at him. Feilong was stunned. Akihito was as pale as ash, and the spark in his eyes that Feilong remembered so well, was gone.

Feilong opened the car door, and Akihito crawled inside, followed by Feilong. He then pulled Akihito to his chest, and just held him. As the car pulled away, no one spoke. Feilong thought it would be much better to wait until Akihito was ready to speak.

Feilong's thoughts wandered to what the fuck Asami could have done, for Akihito to turn to him for help. He had liked the boy, had even come to care for him by the end of their last encounter. He regretted his actions from back then. Akihito had changed him, somehow.

When he had stood in the sights of the two crime lords' guns, Akihito had just handed him back his deeds. Feilong knew Akihito was special. Asami seemed to cherish the boy, so what could have happened?

Feilong kissed the top of Akihito's head again. "I am here, Akihito, whenever you are ready to talk to me, okay?" Akihito just nodded and stayed within Feilong's arms, still clutching his camera bag. When the car finally came to a stop, Feilong helped him out of the car, holding onto his hand. Akihito would not let go; it was like if he were to let go, despair would claim him completely. Feilong smiled, and guided him into his home.

As he entered Feilong's private quarters and office, Feilong led him to his favourite chair, facing a large window which overlooked Hong Kong's skyline, over which the sun was now rising.

Akihito remembered being here like it was yesterday. Feilong nudged his shoulder. "Drink this, it will make you feel better, I promise." Akihito just gave him a sad smile and gulped it down, coughing as the amber liquid burned his throat. Taking the glass back, Feilong turned and refilled it, then handed it back to Akihito. "Sip this one... slowly" he said, and smiled as he walked to the other chair. Sitting opposite Akihito, Feilong carefully observed him.

Akihito was watching him from the corner of his eye, wondering if he had made a good decision. This was the Dragon of Hong Kong, the leader of Baishe that he, himself, had rebuilt, and he was just as dangerous as Asami. Akihito's heart rate increased thinking of him, feeling nauseated. He placed the glass on the table, then tried to concentrate on Feilong. Could he trust him? Akihito felt that he was a sort of an acquaintance, possibly Feilong's only friend. After all, the man had apologised to him the night Asami had rescued him. 'Hah', he thought to himself.

Akihito looked at his watch and blurted out "The photos will be printed in the newspaper and on the newsstands by now; fuck, the shit's really going to hit the fan." Akihito held his head in his hands, second guessing himself: did he regret what he did, had he been too rash about the situation, should he have spoken to Asami first? He started to sob.

Feilong quickly stood up, pulled Akihito out of his chair, then sat back down, pulling Akihito into his lap, stroking his hair and rubbing his back while he kept sobbing. Akihito was still holding onto his camera bag with white knuckles. He relaxed his hand, the drink had warmed him up, and his fingers felt tingly, as the feeling returned to them.

Feilong smiled, "Akihito, maybe if you go have a shower and change your clothes, you may feel better; it's been over six hours since you landed." Akihito bit his lip as he raised his head and lifted his jumper up and smelled it.

"Fuck I stink, I've been in these clothes for over twelve hours, actually... can I?" Akihito voice sounded hollow, and hoarse.

Feilong chuckled. "Of course, Akihito. You know where my private bathroom is, I will place clean clothes on the bed, okay, so stay in there as long as you like. I will close the bedroom door also, so you'll feel more comfortable that no one will enter. Plus, Tao wants to see you as soon as possible, but I explained you might be sleeping today. So Tao will see you tomorrow, you can think about that." Akihito stood up a little quickly and felt a bit dizzy; Feilong steadied him.

Akihito smiled, he held out his camera bag for Feilong to take. "Please, take a look at the pictures while I'm in the shower. They will explain everything." Feilong took the bag, and helped Akihito to the bedroom doors.

"I'll get some clean clothes for you." Feilong gently smiled as he stroked Akihito's hair. 'Yes', thought Akihito, 'I feel safe here, surprisingly'.

As soon as he heard the bathroom door close, Feilong walked over and placed the camera bag on his desk and called the guard in. Going into his "Leader of Baishe" mode, he started issuing orders. "Get my guest clean clothes. He's a size 'small', include everything, even underwear and socks, shoes and some toiletries; get a week's worth for now. If Tao is awake, let him help. Find Yoh and send him here as soon as possible. Go." After the guard bowed and left, Feilong nodded, then returned to the camera bag and sat down.

Hesitantly, Feilong took the camera out, flicking through the images, and then watching the recording. "Asami, you stupid bloody fool, what have you done. Akihito's heart is generous: he forgave even me, but this he might never forgive." There was over a hour of recording, it was in sharp detail, and it was undeniable.

Feilong shook his head in disbelief as he stood, then picked up his earlier drink. His tolerance for alcohol had improved over the years. As he stood by the window and looked over the city skyline, he could feel the pain from years ago. He now understood why Akihito was so broken, he just hoped he could get over this. It had taken Feilong a decade to let Asami go, but he had an empire to rebuild as a distraction. What did Akihito have to do to become that feisty young man again? Feilong knew he would have to help heal Akihito's broken heart. Feilong actually shed a tear for the boy; he understood why he came to Hong Kong. 'And I am the only one who can help him'.

Feilong did not hate or love Asami anymore. He was either a business rival, or a partner, depending on the situation. A knock at the door pulled Feilong from his train of thought. "Enter."

A guard came in, holding some clothes. Feilong stood, holding out a hand. "I will take those." Feilong took them from the guard.

"Sir, the rest of the clothes will come tomorrow; Tao said he will take Akihito shopping." Feilong looked up and nodded. "Carry on." He waited until the guard left, then he opened the bedroom door. The shower was still running; he placed the clothes on the bed, and left the room, again closing the door behind him.

Minutes later there was another knock on the outer door. When Yoh walked in, Feilong smiled. "Akihito in the shower", then his forehead furrowed. "He's been in there nearly two hours" Feilong murmured. He motioned for Yoh to look at the camera, while he checked on Akihito.

Akihito was in the bathroom. He couldn't decide whether or not to lock the door. So far, Feilong hadn't made any type of advances towards him, he had been just supportive, comforting. He touched him like a caring friend would if Kou or Takato had been here with him. He left the door unlocked and decided to trust Feilong. He stripped his clothes off and stepped into the warm water. He could feel the dirt and grime just disappear down the drain. It felt nice, he had not realised he was cold until the water hit him.

As he reached for the soap, his memory flashed. All of a sudden his legs gave way, he slid down the wall, hugged his legs and sobbed uncontrollably in the water. "Why, Asami? Weren't we good after Suduo? I thought…" He was trembling badly. He then started scrubbing his arms, legs and chest. That was all he could do, scrubbing to clean himself; he felt dirty. Dirt and blood started to drip into the water on the bottom of the shower. Akihito didn't notice and carried on. Not moving, just sitting still on the shower floor. Trembling.

A knock on the bathroom door startled Akihito from his trance. "Akihito, you have been in there over an hour and a half. Are you okay? May I come in?" Akihito didn't respond, staring at the door.

"Akihito, I am coming in; I am concerned for you, okay." Feilong opened the door, pleased it was unlocked, and that the blond felt he could trust him. As Feilong walked in he was shocked. Akihito was trembling under the hot water, he was bright red all over, his skin was scrubbed raw, and some areas were bleeding. Feilong called out "Akihito!". Unmindful of his clothes, he turned the water off, and placed a huge towel around Akihito's body, gently lifting him up. He couldn't rub him dry, as his skin was red and raw; he guided him into the bedroom.

"Yoh, get me some soft bandages and some cream for burns; please, hurry." Yoh entered the bedroom, went straight into the bathroom, got what was needed, and returned to Feilong's side. He remembered Akihito from when he was here two years ago; the boy looked like a shadow of his former self. What had happened to him, he wondered.

"I will leave you two in peace, I will just be in the other room if you need anything else." Yoh closed the door as he left. Feilong applied the balming cream and bandaged his arms, legs, and chest. He slowly helped dress Akihito.

"Why did you do this?" Feilong asked, feeling concerned as he buttoned up the top of the Chinese pyjamas.

"I felt dirty; I couldn't get the dirt off." Akihito mumbled as he stared dully into Feilong's eyes.

"Would you like to get into bed now, or come back into the office. I won't sleep in the same bed as you, I will just be in the other room, so you don't have to worry." Feilong said as he was drying his hair.

Akihito looked at Feilong and softly asked "Can you stay until I fall asleep, please?" Feilong smiled sadly. "Of course Akihito, I will be back in a minute, alright?" As he opened the bedroom door, he motioned Yoh to come over.

"Take charge, I am staying with Akihito until he falls asleep. Review the camera's memory, everything will become clearer" he said, turning back into the world bedroom.

Leaving the bedroom door open a crack so he can see and hear if he was needed, he tied his hair back, poured some water into a glass, and told Akihito to take a tablet and drink. Akihito did not question it, and took the pill. Feilong slid under the covers, holding them open for the boy. Akihito joined him in bed, and cuddled next to him.

Feilong watched as he stroked the spiky blond hair. Those dull eyes fluttered closed. As soon as he was comfortable that Akihito was asleep, he slipped out, and replaced himself with a pillow. He walked out the bedroom.

"I gave him a sleeping pill, which will knock him out until later tomorrow and a strong painkiller for his wounds." Feilong smiled softly at Yoh "Have you seen?"

Yoh looked shocked. "I have seen enough. I am surprised; is it fake?" Feilong shook his head.

"No. Akihito was at the scene and he recorded it. He has not spoken about it yet, but he never let that camera out of his sight; and he smelled as if he was doing his job yesterday, and then he came here. Akihito had to run, so I think he had let the paper know he had a scoop, as he felt betrayed. I rather understand it if he did that, Asami's wrath will be incalculable. However, the wounds you saw were from after he got here; he said he felt dirty." Feilong glanced at the bedroom door, looking sad.

"Asami needs a good, swift kick." Yoh muttered. Feilong smirked.

"But Akihito is in hiding, so no one can know he is here, get it." Feilong turned to look at Yoh, with a stern look on his face. "Asami must not find him until he is ready."

Yoh nodded in agreement. "Maybe a psychiatrist should be consulted about his wounds; that's a rather extreme reaction… " Feilong agreed.

"I will phone Tao's therapist, just to assess him. I will organize it tomorrow; tell Tao he can come in if he wants to keep him company." Feilong slumped into his office chair, and sighed. "Any news or other business?"

"The Russian is back, wanting to talk to you." Feilong's face fell.

"Get my personal plane ready to leave, make it look like I am going out of the country. I've gone someplace far away. Please, Yoh, take care of business; no one must know, understand?"

Yoh turned and smiled at Feilong. "I will do what's needed."

"Thank you."

Akihito woke up, feeling groggy. He lay there, watching the stream of light that came through the small crack in the curtains, and it took about five mins to work out where he was. Like a ton of bricks, he remembered what he was doing here.

"Why, Asami?" he whispered. Akihito started to stretch, when he banged into something in bed with him. He looked over the pillows, and there was Tao. He must have crawled into bed sometime last night. He stared at him; he had grown quite a bit. He smiled, remembering when Tao would steal his food. Because he had talked bad about Feilong, Tao wouln't let him eat. He crawled over to him and poked him on his cheek. Tao batted away Akihito's hand like it was a fly or something. Akihito smiled, prodded Tao again, and giggled.

Tao opened his eye and saw Akihito giggling, and jumped on him; Akihito grunted in pain. Tao froze, wide-eyed, and apologised. Akihito smiled, "Don't worry about it", and laughed. "What are you doing here, Tao?"

"Well, Fei-sama was worried about you, and so was I. We thought you would like the company when you woke up."

Akihito grinned. "I am happy to see you again; you've grown." Tao just smiled and giggled.

Feilong walked into the bedroom. "So, you're both awake. I will order breakfast." Feilong looked at Akihito and smiled. "I have already changed your bandages. Your wounds are healing; you and Tao can get something to eat." His gaze landed on Tao. "Make sure he eats something. Now get up you two, and don't get up to any mischief. Yes, I am talking to you, Tao" he said as he chuckled.

Tao pouted. "I played one prank you, and you think I'm plotting to do something again." Akihito was surprised

"You pranked Feilong? High five me." After an enthusiastic slap, they both grinned. "Tell. Me. Everything." Akihito eyes sparkled.

Feilong smiled. 'He will survive this'. He then spoke up. "While here, Akihito, please call me Feilong or Fei-sama, alright. And after breakfast, we need to talk." Feilong turned gracefully, and left the two whacking each other with pillows.

Akihito was not hungry, but he ate some fruit, mostly to keep Tao happy. He had slept almost 48 hours, his mind kept wandering back to Asami: he wondered if he missed him; maybe he should have spoken to him first. Or did he mean anything to Asami at all. Suduo had made Akihito realise that he was part Asami's private life, and that must have meant something… He was going to cry again, and he struggled not to. 'I am stronger than this', he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. 'I will get over this like always…' when a grape hit his face.

Tao smiled. "Akihito, I've been calling you for a while now. What are you thinking about?"

Akihito gave him a sad smile. "Nothing" he said, and threw the grape back at him.

After breakfast, Feilong called him into his office, where a pretty Chinese woman in her mid fifties sat. Feilong introduced her as Dr. Nico Robin, she was Tao's long-time therapist. Akihito was shocked; he wanted to ask about Tao, but thought he had better ask Tao himself. Then Akihito realised she was there for him.

"Fei-sama, I don't need a therapist." Feilong walked up beside him, gently guided Akihito to his chair, and made him sit down.

"Akihito," Feilong said in a soothing voice, "she is here for you, when you are ready. The incident in the bathroom alone concerned me. Greatly. You are a very strong person, Akihito, but sometimes you are too stubborn. She is a tool to help you with sorting things out. " Akihito wanted to run, but Feilong gently held onto his shoulder.

The woman held her hand out. "Hello, my name is Dr. Nico Robin; please, call me Robin. You are Akihito, right, and can I call you that?" Akihito shook her hand and nodded. Feilong walked away to let them talk quietly, but did not leave the room. When she left three hours later, Akihito felt tired.

"I am going to bed, Fei-sama." Akihito yawned and walked into Feilong's bedroom.

As he collapsed on the bed, he heard "Goodnight, Akihito." He smiled, he liked the doctor, she was pleasant to talk to.

Feilong was the only one allowed into the shower enclosure with him, to make sure his thoughts wouldn't spiral out of his control. Sometimes, showering was a trigger for the photographer. He'd learned from Dr. Robin what triggers were, and how to protect himself from their influence. He was suffering from PSTD, which Feilong was partially responsible for, but was now trying to help him work through; and another condition called OCD. Due to repeated traumas in the past, it was a way he was trying to stay in control. Akihito woke up, glanced around, and there was Tao, asleep in bed with him again. He woke up Tao with the whack of a pillow to the head. Akihito giggled. Tao was not amused. As they walked down to breakfast, he mentioned talking to the doctor. Tao's faced lit up. "Oh, I love her!" Tao said as he grabbed some fruit. "She's caring and she's brilliant."

Akihito quietly enquired "May I ask you… why?"

Tao's face fell as he recalled his memories. 'You wanted to forget.' Akihito thought, and felt guilty. "If you don't want to say anything, its okay, Tao." Akihito looked at Tao, with a small smile.

"Akihito, I think of you like a brother, so I trust you." Akihito's smile widened.

"Yeah, I think of you the same way" he reached over the table, and took hold of Tao's hand.

Tao took a breath "Fei-sama took me in when I was five; he saved me. His brother was not a nice guy, and he took me as collateral for my parent's debt. Then he sold me to some even more not-so-nice men who hurt me." Akihito could see discomfort in Tao's face. "Fei-sama rescued me, he took me in and helped me a lot. I am all good now; my nightmares have nearly stopped, and I am in a great place. I don't remember much, except adults had made me scared, and when you spoke badly about Fei-sama, you hurt me. But I understand what happened to you now; and when you saved me, I knew you were a good guy, Aki." Tao gave him a genuine smile.

Akihito thought 'Wow, here I am, moping about Asami, when Tao was much worse off, and he came through it' and right then, he decided to man up and change for the better. "Tao, thanks for telling me your story; you've given me back my courage. Thank you."

Tao looked confused, and shrugged. Then he perked up. "You were going to show me how to use a camera today, Aki." Akihito bit his lip; he had not picked his camera up since arriving in Hong Kong several months ago. But looking at Tao's pleading face, he sighed, and nodded his head.

"Yes, Tao, I will." Akihito was surprised at Tao's attitude; it was like he had been given the best birthday present ever.

"Can we take some photos of the garden?" Tao begged, nearly dragging Akihito out of his chair, wanting to get started right away.

"Uh, sure. Gimme a minute, okay? Fei, can I have a word?" Akihito asked nervously. Feilong stopped what he was doing and turned to Akihito with his full attention.

"How may I help you, Aki?" Feilong enquired with a smile.

"Fei, would you teach me?"

Feilong was puzzled. "Teach you what?" Akihito coughed, a little uncomfortable.

"Well, I'm fed up with being kidnapped, abused and just being a weakling." Feilong was going to interject, but Akihito carried on. "I know you are trained assassin, so teach me a little." He looked into Akihito's eyes. Feilong saw something he hadn't seen in them since he had arrived in Hong Kong. His spark. Akihito was back.

"May I ask what's brought this on?" Akihito blinked.

"Tao. He told me his story; not all of it, but enough, and he has inspired me to stop moping about and to take charge. So, I thought you could train me."

Feilong smiled, and hugged him. "Okay, starting tomorrow, you are going to attend classes with Tao and his private tutors. He is studying a few languages that could help you in the future, then in the afternoon I will train you. Remember: I was groomed from a very young age to become an assassin, but I can teach you a few things to help yourself." Feilong felt happy. Akihito beamed a bright smile.

"I heard you were going to the garden with your camera, are you going to be teaching Tao?" Feilong casually asked.

Akihito nodded. "Well, we had a talk and he started to drag me, so I thought I might as well…" he said, looking sheepish.

Feilong smiled. "Well, that's wonderful, Aki" he said, and hugged him again.

Akihito felt stronger than he had before; he felt like he was wanted, and that he had a home. Liu Feilong, Tao and Yoh were his family now. He had a new beginning.

T.B.C.


	2. Early Edition

Restart my life:

chapter 2 : Tokyo Times, Early Edition.

The Editor-in-Chief Mr Ejin, At Tokyo Times newspaper was sitting at his desk, file, documents scraps of paper surrounded him and general mess but for him its called an organized editor was rubbin his temples, he knew a migraine was coming, he had quit smoking a few weeks ago, due to becoming a proud grandfather to a little baby girl.

Mr Ejin shifted on his sit, he was waiting for his favorite photographer to send in his assignments. Takaba should have been finished roughly an hour ago, he glanced at his watch. This assignment someone had called in anonymous to his departments number not threw the switch board. the man had given them a place, date and time, It was suspicious as it was quite specific in detail his secretary also let slip who would cover the story.

Mr Ejin was suspicious but then the scoop was more important so he didnt care as long as it was on the front page of todays edition. Mr Ejin had been Editor-in-chief for over 20 years so the information that came in didn't sit well in his gut, they wanted to know who would cover the story, usually they never divulged that kind of information but she let slip it was mitarai day off, so Takaba was the only one who could take the asignment. the person on the line see happy.

So here Mr Ejin still rubbing his temples thinking uncomfortable hoping that boy wouldn't get himself into trouble; again in all his years. Akihito more often than not came to work banged up. Akihito was either a magnet for trouble or he was reckless maybe even both, his Editor couldn't decide, he like Akihito he was a great worker always putting in a lot more effort than his other photographes then theirs his smile so bright even after getting injured he come in all giddy with a smile on his face.

Then his gut would coil a deep niggling feeling that years of investigation you instinctively knew something might be wrong, he was questioning himself if he should have listen to it his gut feeling, a thought flashed across his mind "I hope it wasn't a trap. I hope Akihito is safe"

When a sound pulled him out of his thoughs; it was ping sound, Mr Ejin recognized it it was an incoming email on his computer. Editor face lit up in delight it was from Takaba Akihito 2 photos attached with a short message, best shots of tonight assignment hope it goes to print before being pulled, its going to be fucking huge...

Rubbing his hands together before opened the documents Akihito had sent. "oh you beauty Akihito, I hope its juicy" as he clicked to opened the attached files. "Fucking hell Akihito, you scored big, you are going to get a triple bonus for this."

The editor knew this was gonna be sooo big, so before an army of lawyers show up banging at his door, he set to work to get this story to print in time for the First Edition, he was quick as lighting writing a quick article as he sent off the pictures to printer. with Akihito name under was writen the photographer name.

"you deserve credit kid" as he lent back on his chair, feeling giddy about the story.

kirishima as always was awake before Asami Ryuichi woke, it was always hard to make sure Asami didn't put a bullet threw someones head before lunch cause he was in a bad mood. However lately that young man of his Takaba Akihito, for all his wayward antics, was a blessing; he kept Asami level, since Hong Kong 2 years ago, Asami had soften well not soften but some of his ruff edges smoothed alittle, kirishima thought about the boy. and approved to himself

"I like him, he's good for the boss" even though he'd be the death of him and his colleagues, especially Suoh Kazumi who mostly had to get him but if it was dangerous or Takaba life was in danger Asami alway went himself.

This Takaba had lasted 2 years, longer than anyone, who came into Asami life, most of his ex lovers just saw his money, but Takaba was only wanting to care for Asami, a smile graced kirishima face and he had proven plenty of times his loyalty again and again in there world. he was priceless.

The paper landed on the doorstep at 4am he would glace threw to make sure any of Asami business wasn't attracting the wrong attention. Asami was always so careful with his illegal side of his business, however Akihito always got wind of something, but ran it pass Asami to make sure, he was a good kid at heart.

"Fucking hell" kirishima shouted nearly waking the whole building up, as he picked up the paper. Then his phone started ringing, kirishima rolled his eyes today was going be the worst day in his entire life, actually anyone who was connected to Sion Inc, was going to have bad day. As his phoned ranged again. Reluctantly he answered it was prosecutor Kuroda Shinji was on the line,

"I know Kirishima you've seen it, has he seen it, I've already sent lawyers to Tokyo Times to stop and pull any more pictures being published, I will be there in 45 mins" kuroda Shinji was agitated. kirishima sighed

"No I just seen it, but my phone is gonna ring no stop from now on" sighing again, as he rubbed his eyes.

"I'll be there soon, to help" kuroda clipped, as the phone called ended.

Kirishima really didnt want to wake him up especially for this, damage control would be number 1 priority, and hopfully Akihito could explain if Asami would listen or he better be bloody good at hiding, Akihito was already in trouble ditching his guards last night, but Akihito had phoned at 9pm "saying he was on a job and safe," was all the that said. As he looked at the pictures again he was concerned due to the fact that when was Asami in that hotel.

kirishima took deep breaths, as he took the elevator to the top floor, most of his men had flats lower down it was practical as thing moved fast. opening the penthouse door, lights were off, he went into kitchen to put the coffee on, he listen no sound of sex, he looked at the door, no Takaba Akihito shoes, so he didnt come home.

kirishima took is phone out, "Souh find Akihito now, or any trace of him" kirishima walked towards to the bedroom door, sweat was actually beading down his face, nothing like this has ever happen, the boy could just riled Asami up so much, you didnt know weather he'd shot him or kiss him. He knocked the bedroom door, after a pause he heard a deep husky "yes." kirishima took a breath " theres a situation sir, it can not wait." just as he walked away from the door he heard "Fine be right there."

Asami was lying in bed, he'd came home late, usually Akihito was home by the time he arrives, since that Suduo incident in the warehouse, Akihito had settled, not always fighting him, but he was always waiting for him, so he felt a little sad that the penthouse was empty, he went into the kitchen Akihito had left a note "breakfast in fridge topshelf just reheat, you do know how to use a microwave, winky face, 1minute to reheat. Akihito" he smiled.

Akihito was just the perfect wife, chuckled to himself he eat showered then he went to bed, he always liked it coming home seeing him in his bed safe, it actually felt cold and empty without him. It had been a long night and he was bone tired. he was surprised at 4:30am kirishima knocked, 2hours sleep and Akihito still not come home, a knot in his stomach coiled, he was actually praying the brat hadn't done something stupid, as he swung his legs off the bed he slipped on his swearpants, sparked a cigarette took a lung full of nicotine before he left the bedroom.

A newspaper was thrown at his chest, as soon as the bedroom door opened, confused at kirishma behaviour, Asami chuckled. Asami stopped and looked at two photos staring up at him, The Headline read " Sion CEO homosexuality is confirmed" (ceo gets to the bottom of things)

"Where's Akihito, I have to let him know before he see this" Asami voice edge with concern.

kirishima sighed again cause that was all he could do at the moment.

"Sir, these are Akihito photos, he took them" as he walked over to the paper to show Asami the bold black typeface, with Akihito name under the photos.

"Fucking shit" was all Asami could say as he walked over to the couch and sat down. The wind was knocked out of Asami. kirishima walked into the kitchen winced at the note Akihito left, grabbed a tray with 3 cups of coffee. Asami just looked like he saw a ghost, the paper in his hand still, just looking at the 2 photos, which weren't grainy, but near good quality, except there was a stranged angel to the pictures.

Asami just looked at kirishima as he handed him coffee,

"the other cup is for Kuroda Shinji he'll be here in 5 mins" Kirishima mention then a knock on the door,

"that will be him."

Asami just started at the photos, in glorious hi definition Asami Ryuichi having sex. The other was Asami Ryuichi having an orgasm with a blond boy in a hotel room and it wasn't Akihito. He threw the paper photo side down on the table, and held his face in his hand. "fucking hell"

Kuroda Shinji was Ryuichi brother by adoption no one knew, and they wanted to keep it that way.

"Is it true Ryuichi" kuroda Shinji spoke in a firm tone.

Asami just laughted as he pulled another cigarette and placed it too his lips, "I don't answer to you Shinji" blowing smoke in the air.

"really" as he walked over to the telvision, and turned it on

"you are the running News story today, the CEO Of Sion is gay, we might not have a problem with it but other people do, Do you realize that the Nikkei (Japanese stock exchange) opens in 30mins you might not have a company anymore" Kuroda shinji was mad as he just stared at Asami,

"that fucking toy of yours has brought you to your ruin." kuroda Shinji scoffed.

Asami straighten his back, with a dangerous tone,

"Do not speak about Akihito like that " it came more like a quiet growl as he spoke, Asami looked at kirishima while keeping kuroda Shinji in his sight just incase he said something else to make him want to break his neck. Kirishima started speaking

"sir, all we know is Takaba was at that hotel last night we know the photos came in about 2am to the paper, but we think it was earlier not sure, at present" kirishima phoned went off, he excused himself.

Asami was now fully looking a kuroda Shinji.

Asami sighed "I was at the hotel last night, some charity thing but I left about 10, went to Sion. Then back at penthouse around 3" Asami turned off the television he could not look at the photos plastered over the screen.

"well your boy pick your most flattering side," kuroda Shinji said with a weak smile.

Asami chuckled, as snubbed his cigarette out.

"I've already stopped the paper running anymore photos. However the damage is done our only course of action news conference dening these claims, and the pictures are a hoax to ruin your reputation" kuroda Shinji continued, Asami paused,

"No" cold as steel. Shinji was about to open his mouth. Asami lifted his coffee cup

"l said No and ruin Takaba Akihito reputation at the same time, I wont do that,"

Kuroda Shinji could not believe what he just heard

"he threw you under the bus, Ryuichi without a second thought, who knows if he was just been waiting to betray you or is this part of a bigger scam to bring the great Asami Ryuichi down" kuroda Shinji voice edge with disdain.

Asami with with grace of a large cat, had his hand was round kuduo Shinji throat, looking at him holding all his control on a very tight leash his words clipped

"Akihito was set up, I know cause it wasn't me in that room last night, and my lover conveniently took my image, having sex with another blond boy, I know 100% that he is hurting, so yes I am thinking of him first. Akihito would never and I mean never betray me do you understand Shinji"

Asami released his hand from Kuroda Shinji throat, he sat back down, lighting another cigarette. Kuroda Shinji was shocked, rubbing his throat

"you trust that boy, or are you just in denial Ryuichi" Kuroda Shinji spoke as he glared at Asami.

Asami smirked "Akihito is" and stops short of what he was going to say

"schedule a conference for this morning at 9, that the images are real however that it was a well sophisticated hoax, we are investigating how this could happen, I was at a gathering at that hotel but at the time these photos were taken l was at a charity gala with independ eye witnesses"

Asami rubbed his temple.

"no scrape that, issue a statement that futher investigation is needed, to see how the hoax was committed, but Akihito in good faith believed what he saw, his integrity is not in question understand" Asami said before picking up his coffee.

kududo just nodded, finished his coffee, got up to leave.

"I will try some damage control my end" Kuroda Shinji shaking his head, wondering was Akihito really that trustworthy or was Asami in denial not wanting to believe he was decieved. Asami must have seen kuroda Shinji expression and just smirked.

kirishima walked back into the room noticing Asami chain smoking, it was never a good sign.

"Akihito phone has been located, at a airfield 40mins from that hotel, its been damaged, Souh is bringing it to our tech to see who he called last, there are men stationed at his friend and family, houses just in case he makes contact" Kirishima could feel the tension in the room.

Asami was rubbing his head, trying to think of his next move.

"see if any planes took off around 12-4am maybe not in official logs, bide anyone at that airfield. If Akihito thinks I have betrayed him he's running scared especially after sending those photos, I know him he's afraid of me at this moment he thinks he's betrayed me with sending those photos, its my fault"

with a very dejected voice and looked at Kirishima

"I never convey in words that I cared for him deeply, so he didn't need much to think I was capable of this" Asami rubbed his eyes

"I want to know how this was done, it is fucking clever and meant to break Akihito and ruin me, personally" Asami then walking towards Akihito workroom. Asami closed his eyes he could feel Akihito pain and Asami chest ached.

Returning to kirishima Asami whispered

"he hasn't taken anything, check his bank account. i will be ready togo to work in 1 hour"

Asami just walked slowly into his bedroom.

Kirishima nodded, surprised at Asami honest declaration about Takaba. well he suspected the photos were iffy so now the hunt was on for the person responsible for this and Takaba this is gonna be a very long day.

T.B.C.


	3. Saving Hope

Restart my life chapter 3: Saving Hope.

Asami walks out of his penthouse armored in his three piece suit, ready for the fallout of the newspaper article. Mentally sighing as he gets into the limo, Kirishima has already mentioned a few important investors need to meet with him ASAP. Kirishima has been on the ball since this fiasco started.

Kirishima asks when they get close to the Sion building "Front or back entrance, sir?"

Asami closes his eyes. "Pull up to the front. I will not cower to vultures. I will face this head on."

As they reach Sion, he can see the media circus is there, scrabbling to get good spots. Also, there are a few protesters with placards voicing their opinion on bigotry and hatred towards homosexuality, which really agitates Asami. Rubbing his eyes, and mentally gearing up for the battle ahead, he exits the limo. Within seconds he is swarmed. His bodyguards do an excellent job, no one has touched him. As he reaches the entrance, he turns to face the crowd, and holds up his hands for silence.

"I will hold a press conference this morning to explain this hoax." Asami then turns on his heels and enters the building. He can feel his employees staring and whispering, but ignores them. He can't wait to get to his office and start planning his attack, save his company and reputation, and get Akihito home.

"Suoh is waiting in your office." Kirishima mentions as the elevator door slides open.

When Asami arrives at his office, he immediately goes and pours himself a drink, then sits at his desk and lights a cigarette. He's gone through a packet already.

"What have you got, Kazumi?" he asks, speaking with his cigarette on his lips.

Suoh Kazumi is head of security, loyal as a dog, and very intuitive. Sitting with his back straight, he looks Asami in the eyes. "Sir, a private plane left that airfield around midnight heading for Hong Kong. The technician in question fuelled the plane, but didn't see who got on board."

Asami smirked. He knows exactly where Akihito went. It was a surprise, but he's running scared and Feilong will be better able to protect Akihito than anyone.

Suoh continues: "Akihito's phone is wiped. The IT guys are now trying to open the phone to see who he called. He dumped his backpack in the bin also, so I think he only took his camera to wherever he's gone. Also, it's difficult to get a good look at the man in the photograph, so I've locked down the hotel room and sent Miyuki Kazuya to the hotel to see who booked that room and to check for any evidence of who was there. He is quite talented in his observational skills."

Suoh finished his report, hoping he didn't miss anything. Asami is a patient man, however sloppiness in the workplace he is very unforgiving of, so right now even though the news article was about Asami's private life, its affect on Sion is devastating. So Suoh, as a matter of pride, needs to protect both Sion and Asami.

Stubbing his cigarette out and leaning back in his chair, Asami smirks, his voice raspy from smoking too much. "I believe Akihito has gone to Feilong, so we can hold off on looking for him at present. We need to find the people who could pull this kind of trick off, and that young man from the hotel room, that's your priority. Also, keep an eye out for any cockroaches who think they can double cross me while I am distracted with this mess." Asami swallows his drink, the burn in his throat frees his mind for a few moments, allowing him to think clearly.

Suoh stands and bows. "Yes, sir." he says, and leaves.

Asami is undecided whether to call Feilong, or wait to see if he'll phone him. He wants Akihito home, but at the moment he would be vulnerable to attack from his enemies, so for now he lets Akihito go. For now.

Kirishima enters the office with a pile of files to go through, saying "The press conference is going to be held at 11, and our first appointment is in 15 minutes." Asami hears Kirishima talking, but he's not listening. All he's thinking about is who, how, why. And Akihito.

Realising Kirishima stopped talking, Asami nods. "Call the Tokyo Times, get the editor in chief to come to my office. I need to speak with him." he says with a sly grin.

Kirishima leaves Asami in an empty office, knowing that this feeling in his gut is the calm before the storm. Closing his eyes, thinking of Akihito again, his phone rings.

"Feilong. Nice surprise." he says, making sure there is no hint of a problem in his voice.

"Asami you stupid fool, why?!" Feilong is angry.

Asami knows Feilong is driven by emotions. Sometimes they cloud his judgement; but deep down, Asami knows Feilong is a clever man.

"I don't have to explain myself to you, of all people. However," he says, as Feilong is about to cut in, "I will say this: I was framed. I was not in that hotel room. I haven't betrayed Akihito. I wouldn't." Asami says, letting genuine feelings slip in.

"Look after Akihito for me, he is safer with you at the moment. So when I can prove all of this, I want Akihito back, understand?" his tone is edged with subtle danger.

Feilong is shocked, actually shocked. Asami is being honest. Feilong grumbles at the threat Asami gives him; however, his anger lessens.

"I am sure you are aware that Akihito will do what he needs to do. However, I will help Akihito as much as I can. I am still not sure about your fidelity, but I will comply. I am going to send a copy of the SD card from Akihito's camera. It has a very good recording on it, the images on it are convincing. They say the camera never lies…" he says, a bit of malice in his voice.

"There could be something useful on it if you were framed, however, once more, Asami, Akihito has recorded evidence of 'you', so believe me when I say that that Hell might actually freeze over before he'd believe you." Feilong's tone is slightly amused.

"Again Feilong, I don't need to explain myself to you, but as a favour look after Akihito. I am actually innocent." Asami and Feilong both scoff at the words "innocent" and "Asami" in a sentence together. Asami thinks that if this wasn't such a serious matter, it would be laughable.

"I know Akihito. He is very stubborn and won't listen to me just yet, so just make sure he's protected. Who knows if this threat is mine alone, or if they're hoping to take down Akihito as a bonus?"

Feilong can hear the concern in Asami voice. He understands immediately that if it really is an attack on Asami, then Akihito might be a target, either by proxy, or by intent. Something bigger than a lover cheating.

Feilong pauses, a calm silence between two enemies. Akihito managed to bring them together in business, not fully trusting each other, but at least with an understanding.

"I will say this, he is hurting badly." Feilong could hear Asami sigh. For the first time in his life, he actually feels sorry for Asami.

"Asami, Akihito is strong, he's proven that many times. Prove to me that this is some sort of attack, and I will help if I can. When the time is right, I'll try to make Akihito understand the situation. Whether he will listen is another matter. However, if you are just acting a part, I will kill you. Understand me?" Silent again, Feilong makes sure Asami understands his threat.

"I would look after him anyway, however, you now owe me one. I will collect" Feilong says, ending the call.

Asami stands, and pours another drink, contemplating the thought: 'Feilong actually would kill me; he sounded like a big brother protecting his family.' As the liquid slides smoothly down his throat, he realised that without Feilong, he would have been battling on three separate fronts: first the obvious set-up to bring both his personal reputation, along with Sion, to ruin through the media. Second, looking for whomever did this as a threat from the illegal side of his business interests, possibly from an enemy. And third, Takaba Akihito himself.

So the fact that Akihito is safe with Feilong means he is now fighting only on two fronts, which is still bad but the odds did just get better. The knock on his office door rouses him from his train of thought. Kirishima comes in to remind Asami of his first of many meetings. Asami stands, straightens his suit, runs his fingers through his hair, and smiles.

"Ready for battle, Kirishima." Asami says, his tone lighter than before, playful even.

Kirishima realised that some people buckle under pressure, but not Asami. He loves a challenge and thrives under pressure, and when he is backed into a corner he gets creative. Asami is a very clever man. Kirishima knew right then and there that since this all began, Asami has had a plan. "Yes, sir." Kirishima said, and smiles back.

Asami, as he left his office, was ready to save his company, get his reputation back, kill whomever started this fight and then, most importantly, get Akihito back, which will also be the hardest part of it all.

In Hong Kong, Feilong puts the phone down and stares at it, confused by the conversation he just had with Asami. He could hear genuine concern over Akihito, and an honest tone to the words "I'm innocent". Akihito is his priority now and he will keep him safe. Feilong calls Yoh into his office.

"Make a copy of the SD card from Akihito's camera; send it to Asami." Feilong strokes his hair as he thinks.

"Yes sir. Oh sir, Tao would like to keep Akihito company, so that when he wakes, he can see a friendly face." Yoh comments with a smile. Feilong nods in agreement. "Send him in, then."

Chuckling, Yoh leaves the office.

Feilong's face fell. Remembering the shower incident, he phones Tao's doctor. She can help Akihito, because seriously, that wasn't a normal response, scrubbing himself raw. Dr. Nico Robin is excellent. After Tao came into his life, she helped the young man blossom. Feilong wants Akihito's fire back; even though he's stubborn, Feilong knows this is for the best.

With that thought, Tao comes charging into Feilong's office. "Well, where is he?" he says with a smile that could rival Akihito's.

"He's in my bed sleeping. He should be out for a good couple of hours, but you can stay with him if you want." Feilong frowns. "Just be careful, he has a few injuries, so be gentle."

When Tao walks into Feilong's bedroom, he climbs onto the bed full of pillows and cushions. He could see Akihito laying on his stomach, gently breathing. Akihito's sleeping face doesn't look peaceful, he's frowning in his sleep. Tao caresses his cheek and whispered "Don't worry, Akihito, we're gonna look after you, 'kay?" Tao kisses the top of Akihito's head, then grabbing his DS, he settles in for the wait.

Dr. Robin assessed Akihito's condition, and Feilong frowned, not liking being told that he was partly responsible for Akihito's PTSD and OCD. When Asami, Akihito's support structure, was taken away, he relived every traumatic experience since he first met the man, so Akihito had to now build his own base of strength and learn not rely on others. Excessive cleaning is unfortunately a way to control his destructive thoughts. She advised daily counselling, and has either Feilong or Tao shower with Akihito until his need to scrub away his emotions gets under control. Akihito will have to learn to use mental tools to stop his thoughts from circling into a downward spiral as another part of Akihito's problems was now honesty and trust issues. But, he would get through it.

6 months later, Asami was getting infuriated. He had located and sequestered the young man in the recording, a male prostitute picked up off the street. Sadly, he was a drug user that didn't recall the man who hired him.

As well, three computer/engineer geeks who had set up this sophisticated trick had been located. It was impressive how they got a projection of Asami set up in that hotel room. Suoh's second in command, Miyuki Kazuya, managed to get finger prints off of a mirror in the room which had then lead to the geeks, however, the guy who had hired them had explained that it was for a stag night prank and had paid them a large sum, but the name and address given was an alias, so that was a dead end.

However, it was damn insulting when Feilong had called with 2 names, both of whom he had thought belonged to dead men, but they were still fucking alive. Asami's guts coiled: he knew who was behind the attack, but now he had to go on the hunt to find the cockroaches. Oh, he was itching to kill. As resources were deployed to find the bastards, a simple motto ran around in his mind: revenge is a dish best served cold. Asami smirked.

6 months later, Akihito had moved into Tao's room, just in case that no-good Russian Mikhail showed up unexpectedly, which Feilong found very annoying. Akihito was always too curious for his own good, but the doctor has mentioned Akihito's need for stability, honesty and trust, so Feilong began telling Akihito about his life, and business. If he had a meeting, he explained who they were and why they were there; also, he didn't shy away from incidents where he killed. Akihito, even though he didn't like the idea, understood that if family was in danger, in their world this is their way.

So when Akihito asked to be trained in some martial arts, Feilong was overjoyed. Akihito was taking control. Feilong had him join Tao in some of his studies, especially languages, which could him help in the future. Also, he started to train him personally in hand to hand combat, weapons handling and to use his sexuality to distract the enemy. If Akihito wants to learn, he might as well learn properly, so that if he should get into a situation, he could handle himself with confidence.

Feilong believed his mind will become stronger and more disciplined. Akihito will restart his life, this time for the better.


	4. Returning

Chapter 4 : Returning

"Asami, we have a report on Takaba Akihito." Kirishima spoke as he pushed his glasses up. He smiled at Asami's look, and continued: "Takaba Akihito has returned to Japan. He has been working for about six months at Tokyo University. He is training to be a teacher of photography, and he has stopped chasing criminals due to a 'mental condition'."

Asami just looked at Kirishima. He was surprised, and wanted to know more. What had happened to Akihito over the past three years?

Asami stood up with a slight frown. "Why has it taken six months to find Akihito?" he asked, looking at Kirishima with something like disappointment. Kirishima coughed, pushing his glasses up again

"Well sir, Akihito has kept a very low profile since returning. As he came back by private plane, no passport was registered. [[[It was only by chance that one of his friends went to the University, and that his assigned security man followed him. Their orders were to sit and watch, not to follow."

Asami smiled. "Give that man a promotion." he said as he stood up, putting his coat on. "I think I'll go back to school this afternoon." Asami was still smiling as he grabbed his things and left Sion.

Kirishima nodded, and went back to work.

Akihito's OCD was much better controlled now. Feilong had looked after him for the last two and a half years. Akihito smiled. Feilong had taken him under his wing and made him the man Akihito was today. He had understood what he needed to become strong, and he had made Akihito feel that he wasn't alone.

He owed Feilong a debt that can't be repaid. Feilong had never asked for anything in return, he just gave. Akihito felt grateful. However, Akihito was fed up with hiding and wanted to take his life back to where he was, pre-Asami. It was Tao that suggested becoming a teacher. Akihito was patient, funny and just made everything more enjoyable. Akihito had been teaching Tao about photography, which was part of his therapy.

Asami had slipped into the back of the lecture hall. Akihito was discussing different styles of photography. He was displaying a few photos that he had taken in China. He was now doing research into past crimes and atrocities. The photographs were graphic, yet vivid. Asami could see just from these images that Akihito had grown into an extraordinary young man. He watched Akihito teach the class. He was beautiful, and Asami wanted to touch him. He observed how the room was reacting to the material. The class felt comfortable. Even though the subject matter itself was dark, Akihito brought light and beauty to the class.

Two young men were sitting in front of Asami, he could barely catch what they were saying. They were discussing just how sexy Sensei Takaba was, and wondering if he has gay; they would both love to fuck him. Asami's anger flashed, and a small growl left his lips. The students turned their heads, and with one look at the man behind them knew that he was as dangerous as he was hot, and they got the hint to stay away from Akihito.

Akihito dismissed the class with their assignment after he advised that he would out of the office next week, so if anyone needed help, they should use the next couple of days to drop by and discuss anything with him.

The class slowly emptied, and Asami just stayed sitting where he was, watching Akihito talking to students as he packed his stuff away. Asami smiled. He had missed him so much. He stood to leave when Akihito, who had his back to him, spoke up.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of the great and powerful Asami Ryuichi's presence?" Akihito smiled as he knew he had caught him by surprise. "I thought photography wasn't your forte." Akihito turned slowly, and as always, his breath hitched as his eyes met Asami's. They were as mesmerising as he remembered.

Asami smiled as he walked slowly towards Akihito. "When it involves you, Akihito," his name was like smooth chocolate slipping off his tongue. "I have always been interested".

Asami stopped in front of Akihito, and Akihito gave him a coy smile. He loved the way his name sounded coming from Asami. He had missed him after being away for so long. They were standing at arm's length from each other, Asami studying Akihito very carefully, trying not to make a wrong move. Any closer, and he would rip the clothes off of Akihito and fuck his brains out. Akihito felt the electricity between them, he knew his desire still burned like a fire in his soul. He so wanted to be fucked by him, there and then. They stood, neither one speaking, just looking at each other, and feeling the emotion-filled pull crackle between them.

"So, what brings you here?" Akihito asked as he turned away, trying to finish putting papers away.

Asami smiled. "I thought I'd watch you while you work. I didn't think you'd notice me."

Akihito laughed. "I can always feel you, when you watch me." He half turned and smiled at Asami.

Asami's own smile widened. "Asami, how can I help you today?" while Akihito was being polite, his voice seemed unsteady, like he was trying to keep it together.

"I'm not sure, Akihito." Asami mused, noticing the tone in Akihito voice.

Akihito looked right at Asami, and he could see the hurt in his eyes.

"The powerful overlord is not sure why he came here today, away from his busy schedule of taking over the world?"

Asami laughed, the deep rumble filled the room. Akihito saw in his eyes flash with desire. Akihito shivered slightly, knowing his control was slowly crumbling.

Asami slowly and softly spoke. "You. I've missed you. I want to talk with you, to listen to you, to understand you." Asami explained, trying not to sound needy.

Akihito took a step towards him, but Asami stepped back. He felt something from Akihito, a sense of strength, like his anger was leashed, under a controlled, powerful grip. Akihito took another step forward, and Asami stepped back again, but now Asami's back was against a wall. Akihito was right there, inches away from his face, their breaths mingling.

Akihito whispered in Asami ear, in a slow, sensual voice: "Ryuichi, I have missed you too. I want you, I have always wanted you. These past three years I've thought of nothing but you." Akihito slowly pushed his knee between Asami thighs, and Asami let them part. Akihito slowly moved his groin against Asami's hip, while breathing out a very low moan. Akihito was hard, and Asami was reacting to him, getting aroused in turn. Akihito slowly moved away from Asami's ear, and ghosted a kiss across Asami's lips. "I belong only to you; I want you right now." As he rolled his groin harder against Asami's hip, Akihito could feel Asami getting hard.

Akihito then pulled his face slightly back and looked deeply into Asami's eyes, each lusting after the other. Akihito eyes darkened, but his voice turned cold as he spoke. "However, when I close my eyes, all I see is you in that hotel room, and the look on your face as you fucked that young man. I remember that event so clearly, even now my heart wants to break apart knowing that I was not enough for you." Akihito pulled away from Asami, still staring at him.

"Betrayal is the worst emotion to feel. I am sorry I wasn't enough for you. That was my fault, I understand better now that you were never really mine. We weren't in a relationship to begin with, and I had unconsciously pushed my desires onto you, sorry. However, now I see clearly and understand myself better, and I will say this, Ryuichi: you were my first, and my last, love." Then, he kissed Asami on the lips like it was a final goodbye, and Akihito turned around, grabbed his stuff, and walked away from Asami.

Asami was left standing there. He was both shocked and amazed at Akihito. He was even more delicious than he remembered. He gently rubbed his lip with his tongue, tasting a tear that had fallen there. Replaying the words Akihito had spoken, he stood quietly, trying to understand what Akihito was saying. Asami stood there, dazed, until a bang from someone entering the room woke Asami up. As he turned on his heals to leave the building, his thoughts were racing about how to get Akihito back for good.

Akihito had not chosen to let the tear to run down his face. As he left Asami, he was rubbing his arms as he thought of what he had said. He felt proud about how in control he was. His hard on was uncomfortable, but Asami always had that effect on him. He was like drug, his own intoxicating brand of heroin. Fuck. He took his phone out and texted Kou to see if he wanted to go drinking to let off some steam.

Akihito was sitting in his new home. It was one of the small houses given to teachers who were studying at the university, about a ten minute walk away. Akihito felt better since he came back to Japan. He was sitting eating his breakfast, and thought about how he was happy to be home near his childhood friends and family. He missed Feilong and Tao, he made sure he phoned everyday to let them know how he was doing. It was good to be back to himself again.

Akihito paused as he thought about Asami yesterday. He felt there was a change in Asami, but that night was burned into his memory. Does he want to literally and figuratively jump back into bed with Asami? That thought had kept running through his mind all last night. Akihito paused and shook his head. No, there is nothing Asami can say to make the image from that night go away. Fuck. 'Asami, you still can make me confused, but I am not that naive boy anymore. I am a lot stronger now.' He got distracted when he heard something come through his letter box.

There, lying at the front door, was a black envelope with a silver embossed edge. Akihito knew it was from Asami. He stood, chewing his lip, deciding whether he should read it or bin it.

"Fuck!" he swore as he stamped his foot like a child. He picked it up, unconsciously stroking the envelope. It was addressed to Sensei Takaba Akihito. He carefully opened it; it was a note, personally written by Asami. Akihito always loved how elegantly Asami wrote. It was a simple message asking if he was free to go to dinner tonight at 8pm, requesting a RSPV, and including Asami's private number. Akihito snorted, because he had never forgotten his number. He had heard that the restaurant was new and quite popular. Akihito also heard that the sushi was to die for, and the deserts were out of this world.

The second note just said ' I will wait for you. Yours, Asami'. "Hah!" Akihito laughed out loud at the word 'yours'. Akihito put the envelope on the dining table as he got ready for class; he'd decide later. Just as he was leaving, he had looked at the letter again. Then he left for the day.

For the next eight hours he was utterly distracted, and decided to phone Feilong to ask what he should do. Feilong answered, his voice smooth and caring. "Aki, it's up to you. There's no harm in listening to what he has to say. There could be a reasonable explanation for everything. You can tell he's not angry about the photos. At the least, go eat on his tab." he laughed.

Akihito unconsciously started to scratch his arm again. "Akihito, stop scratching." Feilong said in a firm voice. Akihito immediately stopped, and mumbled "Sorry."

There was a pause. "Akihito, use your training tonight to assess what he wants. I will come to Japan in a few days and I'll bring Tao with me, and If you want him back, I wont judge. But I want to speak to him first. Would that help you?" Akihito sighed with relief.

Akihito was happy they were coming to Japan. "Have you got business here?" Akihito whispered into the phone. "Actually, I need to speak to Asami about some annoying upstart, trying to move stuff without my knowledge." Feilong laughed.

Akihito just smiled. "Keep safe."

"Always, Akihito." then the called ended. Akihito text Asami his reply: "yes". Within seconds his phoned buzzed with the message "Thank you".

Akihito looked through his wardrobe. If he was going to eat with Asami, he would look just as sexy as he could. He found his pants that showed off his ass, the lines continuing neatly down to accentuate his legs. Because he'd been scratching, he had to bandage his arms, as he had opened some wounds. He could only wear the softest cloth due to the OCD. While his condition had gotten better, whenever he was nervous he would start scratching and rubbing his arms, chest and legs. His therapist had said it was a habit, and habits can be broken. He sighed at the thought of how weak he still was, but even that was not gonna control him. He decided to wear a deep red silk shirt, as Asami loved that colour on him. The shirt was a snug fit, it clung to his body, making him look long and lean. His goal tonight was to make Asami drool over him.

Akihito looked at his neck and decided he would put a plaster over his tattoo. His hair covered it, and the university allowed it as he explained how it had come about. He had left a few things out of the explanation, but as long as it was kept covered during lessons, it had not been a problem.

Arriving at the restaurant an hour late, he decided that he would make Asami work for it, whatever this was. As he walked in the door, people noticed and checked him out; even a waiter stopped to look him up and down. He knew that he looked good, and he would use that to his advantage. When he arrived at the table, Asami had a smug look on his face, like he knew what Akihito was planning. His eyes were dancing as Akihito apologized for being late.

Asami assured him that it was alright, and that he would have waited much longer. Akihito slid his jacket off gracefully, and hung it on the back of his chair. When he sat down and looked at Asami, he could see Asami liked what he saw, and he wanted him.

Asami spoke softly: "You look very handsome tonight, Akihito." Akihito smiled magnanimously.

Asami thought Akihito looked hot; the shirt was perfect, and the colour looked sexy next to his soft, creamy skin. Asami's mind had just started thinking about Akihito's body, when he felt his cock twitching. 'Breathe, dammit, we aren't here for that.' He knew Akihito would just run again if he felt cornered. Akihito could see lust in Asami eyes, and he was pleased with himself and his choice of apparel.

When the waiter came they could see he was Chinese. Akihito just started speaking Mandarin to the waiter. He asked some questions, and they talked if they knew each other. Akihito ordered sushi, and a wine that complimented it perfectly. Akihito watched as Asami's eyebrow lifted. He could see that Asami was impressed, and flashed him a smile. Asami nodded to the waiter that he would have what Akihito was having. "You speak Mandarin." Asami smiled, surprised.

Akihito smiled back. "I had some time. I'm actually fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese, English and German. I was going to study abroad, but I just wanted to come home first. I'm learning Persian as there's a chance to go to Iran for my photography. Fei taught me." Akihito realised, he spoke too much, and had given up too much information. He blushed and looked down at the table.

Asami was conflicted. He stiffened a little at the causal term of Feilong's first name. It let him know how close they were. He took a breath, and made himself relax. When he had found out Feilong was looking after Akihito years ago, Asami wanted to go fetch him and bring him home immediately. But he felt Akihito would come home on his own, and then Asami could fix their relationship, make it stronger than before.

Asami, taking in the man seated across from him, couldn't believe that as much as Akihito had grown and changed, he was still very much the same person at his core. As intoxicating as the blush on his cheeks was, he was also stronger, and more controlled. A sad look crossed Asami's face. What all had he missed, how had they lost so much time together, why hadn't he been able to be there for all of the changes?

Akihito notice the look on Asami's face.

"Travel is good for the soul." Asami spoke, smiling, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Akihito nodded as the wine arrived. Akihito reminded himself that he could drink two and a half glasses before he'd get drunk. Feilong had taught him that when drinking with the enemy, he could pretend to let his guard down, but needed to be in control. And Asami always knew when Akihito was drunk.

As Akihito reached for his glass, his shirt rode up, and the bandage on his arm showed. Akihito saw Asami eyes widen. Akihito blushed again, and pulled the shirt sleeve down. Akihito excused himself, and left the table. He did it so Asami could have a good look at his ass, his pants were tailored to gently cling to his hips. He walked away, letting his hips sway slightly, which drew the eyes to the curve of his ass. Stopping to ask the waiter where the restroom was, he could feel the heat of Asami's gaze on his back. When he smiled at the waiter and walked off, Asami's cock was wanting to stand up and pay attention, too. Akihito was so fucking sexy. He noted that the waiter also watched Akahito move away. Asami growled to himself as it royally pissed him off.

Akihito looked at himself in the mirror, his hard on was twitching uncomfortably, because even if he just glanced at Asami, he got turned on. He checked his dressings; they were okay, some blood but not a lot. He fixed himself, swallowed hard, and looked his reflection in the eye as he whispered: "I can do this."

When he returned, the food was waiting. Akihito's eyes shone at the sight. He loved food. Asami noticed something else different about Akihito. Asami had always enjoyed watching Akihito eating. But tonight, Akihito would sometimes let a slight moan escape while he was enjoying the food. Asami's cock was harder than before; Akihito was going to be the death of him.

They chatted about nothing in particular; it was a relaxing evening and very enjoyable. As he watched Akihito, how his lips were moist as he was devouring the food, Asami's mind went back to thinking about a blow job Akihito gave him the morning he left. It had been so damn amazing. Asami's cock was rock hard. He wasn't here to have sex, but Akihito was just so fuckable. Asami vowed that he would make everything right, and make Akihito his again.

Dessert arrived. Akihito didn't notice Asami moving closer with his coffee, he was too involved with his very sweet desert. Asami just watched him devour his "death by chocolate". Asami was amused at the name. He reached out and grabbed Akihito's free hand, and held it firmly. He could feel Akihito's pulse start to pick up a little faster. Asami used his thumb to start rubbing small circles on his wrist, trying to calm Akihito dow, while Akihito just looked at Asami with suspicion.

"Akihito". When Asami purred his name, Akihito shivered with delight. Why did his body always betray him like this?

Asami smiled. "I have really enjoyed this evening, but may I ask something of you? You can of course decline, if you like." Akihito just nodded. "Please come to my office on Monday. I need to show you something important about the night you left."

Asami felt his pulse race. He held onto Akihito's hand, knowing his impulse would be to bolt. He continued to rub slowly, trying to keep him calm. Akihito just looked at him. He felt he wasn't prepared for this, tonight was a just test to see if he could live without Asami; if he could move on completely. "It is really important, Akihito..."

Akihito bit his lip, thinking. He rubbed his thigh, then his arm; he was getting nervous..

"Asami, why did you want to have a meal with me; I hope you don't expect anything." Asami chuckled.

"No, I wanted to spend some time with you, like I said. I've really missed your company." Asami had watched Akihito all evening, like a hawk.

Akihito just sighed and softly said "Oh" as he finished his desert. "I will think about it, and text you."

Asami squeezed his hand in appreciation. "Can I ask about your bandages, Akihito?" Asami's tone was concerned.

"It's nothing, really." Akihito shrugged. "I have OCD, and when I am nervous or anxious, I tend to start scratching. It's mostly under control now." Akihito knew Asami wanted to ask more questions. He pulled his hand away, and started to leave. Asami apologized, mentally kicking himself for asking such a personal question. He wanted Akihito to stay longer.

Akihito stood, and gracefully put his jacket on. Asami snagged Akihito's hand, and whispered "Stay", with a bit more desperation in his tone than he would have liked.

Akihito smiled. " I think it's best if I leave now. Tonight was pleasant. I enjoyed the food and the company, but I do have a class tomorrow." All the while, he felt smug.

"Please come to Sion Monday. It's important for us." Akihito stared at Asami. He could hear emotion in his voice. Asami was different, not the cold bastard he remembered. He had said 'please', and had apologized. Akihito stood back, and considered if this was all an act to lower his guard, and once Asami got what he wanted, he'd turn back into that cold, controlling man again. Asami watched the emotions run across Akihito's face.

"Akihito, please come. We need to talk properly." Asami asked again, once more holding Akihito's hand.

Akihito kissed Asami, slowly and intimately. It felt as if the world had stopped. Asami heard a very low moan as the kissed ended, and Akihito pulled his hand away. "I will text you." he promised, then turned and left Asami sitting there, just staring at Akihito's back as he left the restaurant.

Akihito had changed. He had used his sexiness as a distraction, and was more in control, which Asami found quite alluring. Asami wanted Akihito back, more than anything.

His phone beeped, bringing Asami back to reality. When he answered, Kirishima spoke with a sense of urgency. "Your presence is required immediately. A situation…" Asami cut him off.

"Fine, I'll be out front in five minutes. Look up information on a condition known as OCD." There was a slight pause, then a crisp " Yes, sir." Asami paid the bill, and left the restaurant.

Akihito was nearly home, still thinking about the kiss. He knew there wasn't anything wrong with their sex life, it was Asami's controlling nature and his fidelity that were at issue. Akihito wondered why Asami acted like he was almost desperate this evening, especially with how open Asami's behaviour was. He had let him see behind his mask, and Akihito could read his emotions. Also, the smirk that so infuriated him hadn't made an appearance all night.

Akihito was confused, his urge to shower was strong. He wanted to wash, but he decided to get a grip. If he scrubbed himself raw now, he would be letting himself down. Akihito was pleased that Asami still wanted him, but did he still want him too? Shit, yeah. But not like he was before, things would need to change. "Argh!" Akihito shouted as he changed into his silk pyjamas.

Akihito's phoned buzzed. Asami had texted "Thank you for tonight, I loved being with you again. Goodnight Akihito". Akihito bit his lip, he felt butterflies rise up in his stomach. Should he reply or just leave it? He stared at that message, then muttered "fuck it" as he pressed the buttons and replied "Goodnight".Akihito smiled and went to bed.

Asami was briefed as he slid into his SUV. "Sir, Koichi is causing trouble." Asami nodded while he texted. He slipped his phone back into the pocket once he got a reply, and smiled.

"Kirishima, Akihito will be coming in on Monday. Clear my schedule, and bring those two little geniuses to my office as well. Akihito needs to know everything." Kirishima nodded, and drove on to their destination.


	5. Consequence

restart my heart chapter 5 : Akihito learns some consequences.

Kirishima was writing up a report about OCD when his phone rang. It was reception, letting him know that Asami's guests had arrived and were waiting in the grand lobby for their meeting. Kirishima told the receptionist to make them comfortable, then walked over to Asami's office to let him know.

Since his dinner last night with Takaba, he could see Asami had changed. He seemed in a better mood than than he had for a long time, and Kirishima was pretty sure he knew the cause. Akihito always had an effect on Asami's moods. Being with Takaba made him volatile: Asami would brutally kill because Akihito was hurt or had been threatened, or else he would be in a far more forgiving mood because of, Kirishima assumed, a recent round of sex with his boy. Kirishima hoped Akihito would come back home, just for Asami's sake.

"Asami-sama, here's the report on the medical condition you asked for." he said, placing the folder down in front of Asami.

"Thank you, Kirishima." Asami replied, frowning slightly

"Also, our guests have arrived, and are waiting in a hospitality room downstairs. They brought their equipment, and are ready whenever you are, sir." Kirishima bowed and turned to leave.

"Thank you, Kirishima, for your hard work." Asami said as he picked up the report and started to read.

Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) is a mental health condition where a person has obsessive thoughts and compulsive activities. An obsession is an unwanted and unpleasant thought, image or urge that repeatedly enters a person's mind, causing feelings of anxiety, disgust or unease, while a compulsion is a repetitive behaviour or act that a person feels they need to carry out to temporarily relieve the unpleasant feelings brought on by the obsessive thought.

For example, someone with a fear of their house being burgled may feel they need to check that all windows and doors are locked several times before they can leave the house.

OCD symptoms can range from mild to severe. Some people with OCD may spend an hours or so per day engaged in obsessive-compulsive thinking and behaviour, but for others the condition can completely take over their life.

Causes of OCD

It's not exactly clear what causes OCD, although a number of factors have been suggested that contribute to its formation.

In some cases, the condition may run through family lines, and may be linked to certain inherited genes that affect the brain's development.

Brain imaging studies have shown that the brains of some people with OCD work differently than the brains of people who do not have the condition. For example, there may be increased activity in certain areas of the brain, particularly those that deal with strong emotions and the body's responses to them.

Studies have also shown people with OCD have an imbalance of serotonin in their brain. Serotonin is a chemical the brain uses to transmit information from one brain cell to another.

Asami closed the report, a flash of anger in his eyes. His stomach ached at the thought of his beautiful boy hurting himself because of those bastards. Asami also felt personally responsible, as well. If he had just told Akihito what he meant to him, made him understand instead of playing mind games, Akihito might have talked to him and not ran away.

Asami's phone rang, when he saw the caller ID, he mentally sighed. "Feilong, I hope you don't want one of your IOUs as I am actually very busy at the moment."

"With Akihito, I presume?" Feilong was teasing him.

"What do you want." he was not going to play games.

"Akihito already told me about last night, so my question is: what do you want?" silence followed.

"I did say that once I had proof, I was coming for Akihito." Asami said, smirking to himself.

"Look, I am only phoning with concern for Akihito. I take it you looked up his OCD diagnosis?" Feilong asked, voice lowered.

"Yes, I have read up on it." He said, feeling a bit overwhelmed with what Akihito had been through. "I was wondering if I can help him".

"Akihito is in a good place now. If he's just a possession to you, leave him alone. If you do care for him, then…" Feilong didn't finish his sentence, waiting to see what Asami was going to say next.

"Actually Feilong, I have always cared about Akihito. He's just so infectious with his optimism. If I am honest, I'd say we both need to protect him."

"Oh yes. He can be quite infectious. And addictive for us, too." Feilong's laughs. "I will send his medical record today, so you understand what he's been through. But I will say to proceed with caution. He is much stronger than before, but he can still be quite fragile at times. If you fuck it up…" leaving the threat hanging, Feilong ended the call.

Asami felt annoyed. Feilong had no business sticking his nose into what's happening between Akihito and him. 'Calm down, he is just helping Akihito' he thought. But the familiar itch to put a bullet somewhere into Feilong was starting to grow.

Asami stood up; he had a couple of guests to meet. These people were important for Asami's plan to show Akihito the truth. Asami smiled. Monday is when Akihito comes home.

Akihito was walking towards Kou's house, he was thinking about his encounter with Asami for the first time in three years. Akihito was both horny and angry, and didn't know what to do with himself. So, the logical course of action was to go out drinking. Akihito had arranged to go out with Kou, and Takato as soon as he walked out from Asami's surprised visit.

Kou and Takato are his childhood friends, and as soon as he arrived back in Japan he contacted them. He knew they were worried, luckily Feilong had to go to England for business, so he had arranged to have his letters sent from there, just in case Asami was still looking for him. He had explained everything, from being in a relationship with a man, to the photos that had exposed him. He told them he had to leave, to travel a bit to get his life back together. He was safe, and would be training to become a teacher. What he didn't say is that he also knew that they would tease him mercilessly when he returned home. Anyway, they were his best friends, and he was fed up lying to them most of the time.

So when Akihito arrived on Kou's doorsteps one day, unannounced, shock was an understatement. Akihito had texted them but had only visited once since he came back to Tokyo. Luckily, Takato was also at Kou's house, so 'kill two birds…', as the saying goes. Akihito explained that he was going to be training at the university for the next two plus years while working to become a teacher. Akihito felt the grip of guilt as he said he'd been in Tokyo for the past 6 months. However, that feeling soon changed as his so called 'best friends' were answering with "Yes, Sensei Takaba" to everything he asked. They understood his position, but were so pleased he was home. Kou and Takato could see Akihito was a stronger person. When he first walked into the house, they could see he was guarded. As the minutes wore on, he had just reverting back to being Aki.

But, to be safe, he couldn't visit very often as he wasn't sure Kou's house wasn't still under observation by Asami's men, so they sometimes went to see him at the university to catch up.

Akihito had been going mad in his house over the past 48 hours. He could feel he was being pulled back into Asami's orbit, and he needed grounding, some kind of a distraction. Texting Kou that he'd be there in 15 minutes, he'd then called Takato to come over, and bring beer. As Asami now knows he is here, it's pointless keeping a low profile. He wanted to discuss going drinking and clubbing with the guys. Akihito explained about the last 48 hours, and that he needed a distraction.

Takato wondered if it was a good idea to show Akihito some information he'd gathered on the scandal, just in case Akihito was still interested in Asami. Through his letters he could tell Akihito loved him, but 3 years is a long time. Akihito could read Takato's thoughts on his face, and sighed. "Whatever it is, just show me already." Akihito blurted out.

"Aki-chan, I saved some of the articles on Asami after you left, just in case you wanted to know what went on; but if you don't, just say so." Takato frowned, he'd didn't want to hurt Akihito by bringing up the past.

"First, don't call me Aki-chan. Second, may as well show me some of them. If it's too much, well, I'll just stop." Chewing on his lip, he wonders if it's the right thing to do.

Takato started to explained some of the fallout from the infamous pictures. It was big news here. They explained that Sion nearly fell and Asami had almost lost everything, according to newspaper reports. Akihito paled at this realization. Yes, he had wanted to hurt Asami, but not by destroying Sion.

Takato grabbed his iPad and mentioned that he had a recording of the Sion press conference. Akihito gulped. Kou asked quietly "Do you want to watch it?" Akihito just nodded. Takato pressed play.

There, sitting alone at a long table with microphones in front of him, was Asami Ryuichi, with light bulbs flashing, and everyone trying to ask questions. Asami just sat and waited. Even through the iPad's screen, he still made Akihito's tummy roil. Asami had his business mask on, and held up his hand to command silence, which, as always, was given. "I will make a brief statement, and I will answer a few questions afterwards, that will be all." The room quieted down while Asami spoke.

" It was a very convincing setup; and I was framed. So far, we think it was a deliberate attack on my business and my personal reputation. Sion has taken a huge hit on the stock market once the newspaper hit the news stands. I can also confirm that Takaba Akihito, who had taken those pictures, was NOT part of this setup. He, unfortunately, was also framed." The room roared with commotion. Asami held his hand up again, looking straight at the camera. It was like he was speaking to one person only.

"We are personally investigating the hoax, with the help of an independent line of inquiry, so that all will see that this was deliberate attack. Takaba Akihito is well know for uncovering corruption in politics, and is a respected member of his field. He too was set up; the scenario was realistic enough for him to photograph, and then send the pictures to his paper. How, and by whom both of us were targeted, that will be investigated." There Asami was, in the midst of his own crisis, making sure that Akihito's reputation was not in question, so reporters wouldn't go sniffing around him. "Now, for a few questions."

A lady stood up, and asked "Are you gay?"

Asami smiled "What has my sexuality got to do with my business?" A male reporter shouted out: "Why would they set you up with a man?"

Asami sighed. "Let me ask you about your sexual preferences; also, whatever you get up to behind closed doors, does it affect you in your daily job? Would you mind answering those questions?" the man just blushed, then looked at the floor as if it had suddenly become very interesting. He just answered with a simple "no".

"Then why do you think I would a answer a ridiculous question like that." Asami stated, eyes fixed on the reporter.

Another reporter shouted out: "Are you gay; you haven't answered the question." he sounded rather smug.

Asami found his target and stared at him coldly, waiting until the reporter dropped his eyes. Asami smiled. "Again, my sexuality has no bearing on how I run a multi billion dollar company. Rivals are jealous of my success and are trying to bring me down. I am not ashamed of who I am, my business is a success and it will weather this storm. But, whom I sleep with isn't anyone's concern, except for the person I am with. Now, if you are just going to gossip like school kids about my love life, then this is over. I do have a business to run." Asami stood up, pleased with his answer, when another reporter asked "Do you know Takaba Akihito personally; and why would they use him to attack you?"

Well, that was an unexpectedly clever question. He glanced at Kirishima, signalling him to get that man's name and to look into his background. He didn't want anyone investigating Akihito.

"I do know Takaba Akihito; he strikes me as someone unique, with his work being a testament to his shining a light upon the darkest part of human nature, exposing it for the world to see." With that he left the building, hoping Akihito might see it and know he is still special to Asami.

Akihito sat stunned. Kou and Takato looked at each other, then both hugged Akihito, who had started to cry. Takato was apologising, saying that he shouldn't have shown him the conference.

Akihito smiled. "It's okay, I'm fine. I am glad you showed me this, I needed to know what was going on."

Akihito was confused even more than before. Asami had been set up? Akihito couldn't believe that, he'd see it with his own eyes. But how Asami had spoken, his body language being open, and the way he looked into the camera was like he was reaching out for understanding. Asami's statement about him had protected his own reputation, so was he willing to accept that he was also a victim of all this, just as much as Asami was? Akihito's brain was writhing with thoughts of guilt, betrayal, sadness, confusion. Akihito felt he couldn't breath with all of this new information.

Saying "Looks like you need this.", Kou handed him a beer. Taking a big swallow, Akihito asked "Was there anything else you wanted to show me?" Kou and Takato looked sheepishly at Akihito.

Takato spoke up "See, after your letter arrived, we started following stories about both Asami and Sion with interest. We kept a few papers to show you if you were interested. Sion took a huge hit, money wise." Kou grabbing a pile of newspapers from a box next to the couch.

"Shit" was all Akihito could think. He felt really bad, he didn't mean to bring Sion to its knees. He wasn't thinking about consequences, he just wanted Asami to feel pain like he felt. Maybe coming home was a bad idea. Asami could still be angry, maybe even want to kill him. But after seeing him yesterday, then watching the press conference, he could see Asami wasn't a harbinger of death, but more his saviour.

When Akihito had seen Asami slip into the back row of his class and just watch, Akihito thought 'shit, this is it, I'm gonna die', but as the class carried on, he noticed that Asami seemed curious. Akihito couldn't believe at the end of the class that he actually wasn't gonna speak to him, that Asami thought he was just going to slip out unnoticed.

Akihito hadn't wanted it to end like that, he needed to say some things. For Asami, to have come all that way across Tokyo, and then to just leave and not speak to him after three years, and that would be it? Asami might have moved on, and was just being curious, but Akihito decided to confront him and be honest for once about his feeling. He'd even kissed him. Akihito was surprised Asami had let him take control of the conversation, but then, when he had said "I miss you, I want you", Akihito had been shocked.

Now watching and reading most of what had happened after he left for Hong Kong, Akihito understood that he had nearly destroyed Sion. So why did Asami say he had missed him? He could see that Asami was sad looking at Akihito, however, Akihito had had to leave; being near Asami is like a spark and TNT. Akihito could feel the lust building in both of them when he pressed his hip against Asami, they were both so close to fucking in the classroom. Akihito left, head held high, and thought that would be the end of it.

As soon as he walked away from Asami, he went to the courtyard, and phoned Kou and Takato to go clubbing. It had been years, and he felt good over Asami. It had ended well, and it looked like they had both forgiven the past.

Akihito was more than confused with the dinner invite, though; was it about revenge? But again, Asami was open; he only wanted him to come to Sion on Monday. What could he want? Akihito's hand started gently rubbing his sleeve, as his thoughts slowly spiralled. Maybe… Asami wants us to pick up where we left off...? No, that can't be right. Did he want the appointment to prove something or… 'Fuck it, I'll call Fei, see what he thinks' Akihito thought to himself.

Akihito finished his beer, and hugged both his friends. "Thanks for showing me all this, but it really changes nothing. Asami and I are over. We can't take back the things we did to each other." Changing the subject, Akihito smiled.

"So, when are we going clubbing? I need to blow off some steam, and I think a night with you two is exactly what the doctor ordered."

Akihito had heard about a new club opening near the campus called "the Vibe". The students raved about it. It kinda felt like what it he used to be. Kou and Takato were also hyped, they all needed a boys night out. Friday was Akihito's chance to let Asami go completely.

Lying in bed that evening, all Akihito could think of was Asami. Akihito's mind was running in circles. He barely got any sleep, he felt more out of control than usual. He'd reopened a few wounds on his arm by rubbing, after all the information Kou and Takato had showed him in the afternoon.

Akihito was replaying the last few days. Asami and he had said their goodbyes, it was over... right? When Asami visited the university. But then, the morning after, Akihito was feeling sad, but was happy he had said goodbye. "Closure" was an American term, but that's exactly how it felt.

That is, until, while he was eating breakfast, Asami had sent him a dinner invitation. It was beautifully embossed, and Asami's Kanji was perfect, every stroke was perfect. So now he was mixed up, because it looked like Asami had different plans. Feilong had suggested going to dinner. He trusted Akihito's judgement and said to go have some free sushi. Even if it was Asami bribing Akihito with food, maybe he should listen to his side of the story.

When Akihito arrived home, his thoughts were all about dinner. Asami was so sexy, and he had behaved all night, a perfect gentleman. Akihito had felt like an equal, and was treated as an equal, he could tell.

After everything, Asami wanted him back. He had sounded and acted like a different person, not cold and detached. It had felt honest. Akihito was biting his lip, thinking about whether he should go to Sion on Monday, when a text came in from Asami, just saying 'Goodnight'. "Wow." Akihito felt like a teenage girl, butterflies in his stomach. How ridiculous.

Deciding that sleep was futile, he got up to make hot chocolate. Kou and Takato hadn't helped with this his decision about maybe giving Asami the benefit of the doubt.

Grabbing his phone, he called Fei, telling him everything he'd found out so far. Fei had offered to come with him to Sion to see for himself what Asami wanted, and to give Aki moral support. Akihito felt better already. Fei thought that it might be better to wait and decide about Monday's meeting after the boys night out.

Akihito agreed; Feilong would keep him grounded and not let him get swept up in Asami's pace. Akihito could feel in the back of his mind that his resolve was crumbling; even if Asami was innocent, then what? Don't think now, just wait.


	6. Just one night out

Friday night clubbing

chapter 6 :just one night please

Friday night was here. Kou and Takato had arrived at Akihito's new home, they looked around and were impressed. Kou was just happy that Akihito had stopped running around chasing bad guys, had a steady income and wasn't always coming home injured. Akihito understood their concern, then explained how his photography was now capturing past bad guys to bring history alive, through his images, to a new generation. Kou and Takato were blown away by the change in Akihito, but that's not what they were there for. They wanted to get this night started.

"Akihito", Kou said, "You look absolutely gorgeous" while taking in his tailored pants, silk shirt and jacket ensemble. Akihito, as he was changing, thought that if Asami did want him back, there might be a tail on him tonight, so if there were going to be photos, he wanted to look good 'n' sexy. He had explained to Asami that due to his condition, he had to wear clothes that wouldn't aggravate his skin. But, if Asami wanted, then let him think my new wardrobe was just to impress him.

Akihito was really acting like a teenage girl. 'Shame on you, Akihito' he thought, and slapped the back of his own wrist. Either way, tonight was going to be good; he was home and feeling like himself again.

Takato was eager to go girl hunting as Kou needed a girlfriend. Takato had met a young lady before Akihito came back, and it was going good, so tonight was operation 'Kou gets a girl`. Takato apologised for the title, but couldn't figure out how to shorten it. They laughed until Akihito was crying; god, he'd missed these guys. Operation 'Kou gets a girl' was on. They left the house, Akihito as he locked up, looked around, just in case someone was watching.

They headed over to the club. It was a little embarrassing when he was greeted as Sensei, which mad Kou and Takato giggle uncontrollably. They got a couple of beers and sat near the dance floor; the music was loud, and bodies were heaving to the music.

One of Akihito's students had walked over to say hello with three of her friends. Akihito smiled and introduce her and her friends to Kou and Takato. Akihito was getting a little irritated with the guys calling him Sensei, so he decided to dance and burn some energy off. Kou was talking quite happily to Akihito's student, maybe operation 'Kou gets a girl' might even be a success. She seemed genuinely interested, and when her friends decided to mingle and left, she had stayed, chatting with Kou. Akihito's favourite song was playing, so he grabbed Takato and pulled him onto the dance floor.

Akihito's brain shut down and the music just beat in his chest, he was swaying his hips and rockin' to the beat. Takato tapped Akihito on the shoulder. "Damn, Akihito, you're dancing far too sexy; where did you learn to do that?" Akihito shrugged his shoulders and said "Just close your eyes and feel the music ". They laughed and carried on dancing. Akihito's hip swayed and rolled as he was thinking of only one person.

As he was happily dancing, he glanced over to Kou, who was still taking to the young girl (well, she was about four years younger then any of them, which didn't bother them nor Akihito 'cause Asami was a lot older than him, anyway) he bent over to get Takato's attention to report that operation 'Kou gets a girl' was looking good.

The music changed to a slightly slower beat, and when he felt someone touch his ass he ignored it, thinking it was an accident as the floor was crowded. When he felt it again, this time firmer, Akihito turned around and this not-so-hot looking man smiled. He obviously thought he was best thing ever. Akihito mentally counted to ten. "Not interested, thank you." the man grabbed his hand.

"A pretty thing like you shouldn't be dancing alone." Akihito smiled.

"I'm not alone, so please leave me be." As he was just about to walk away, the man grabbed his wrist , and started pulling him off the dance floor.

'I've been in Japan 6 months, and some creep thinks he can feel me up.' Akihito tried pulling his wrist free, when the guy stopped walking and stood right up next to him.

"Stop playing hard to get, you'll have the time of your life." fugly guy smiled. Akihito had to keep himself from throwing up.

As the guy started pulling him off the dance floor again, Akihito shouted "No, I ain't going anywhere with a fuck-ugly guy like you. Piss off!"

The man's face contorted in anger. He grabbed Akihito's wrist tighter and nearly lifted him up off the floor and snarled "Your ass is mine."

That, was it. Akihito was royally pissed, and planted his feet on the floor to steady himself. Akihito's face changed to a calm, blank state, and he tilted his head to look at the creep.

" I said no; last chance for you to walk away." the man laughed at Akihito, and that was it. Three swift strikes later, the man's nose and shin bone were broken, and he was grasping his bruised windpipe.

Takato was already rushing toward Akihito when he heard him shout, by the time he got there Akihito was looming over the downed man shouting "No fucking means NO!" Takato pulled Akihito away from him.

"Akihito, what did you do?" Akihito looked with surprise at Takato

"I defended myself; he wanted to rape me." Kou and the young lady came to see what the commotion was about. Someone had called the police, then Akihito was being manhandled and arrested for fighting and GBH. Akihito kept repeating himself "It was self defence, I was gonna be raped".

Takato shouted " Well, go to police station, we'll wait for you there!" As he was being pushed out of the club by one of the policeman, he thought he was being felt up again.

'Fuck, Akihito, can't you just have one fucking night…'

A skinny man, who had been watching Akihito all night, made a phone call.

Akihito sat in the interrogation room, muttering to himself. He had already started scratching at his arm again, he was very nervous, but was sure that the cameras inside the club would have recorded the man trying to pull him off the dance floor. Akihito's temper was flaring up, and he kicked the table leg.

"Shit, why is it alway me?" It had been over two hours, and no one had spoken to him yet. Akihito started banging on the door, shouting: "It was self defence! He wanted to rape me, can you fucking hear me?" When a policeman finally came in, he was sweaty looking and stared at Akihito with a gut churning smile.

"Finally. Can you let me go, it was self defence." the policeman just smiled.

" I wouldn't call a broken nose, a broken shinbone, a cracked rib, and oh yes, a bruised windpipe, self defence."

Akihito smirked. "Maybe he has a bone problem, you know, fragile bones easily broken, nothing to do with me. I will admit to the nose, but that jerk was thinking he was gonna have his way with me."

Again the policeman just smiled. Akihito wanted to throw up again.

"That's not what he said. Apparently, you were coming on to him and trying to dance with him; when he said no, you got violent." Akihito laughed out loud.

"Did you see him? Who would want to be fucked by that shithead." Akihito kicked the table leg again.

"You're very aggressive, aren't you, for such a little thing." Akihito blinked, then thought "Did he just say 'little thing?' Wait, don't tell me he's a pervert as well. Is there a sign on me somewhere…" Akihito mused to himself.

"Look. He was going to rape me, he was certainly hassling me, okay? Check the inside cameras…" The policeman came around the table then sat on the table's edge in front of him, breathing 'way too close for Akihito's liking.

"We are looking into it, but you will be held until the video is checked." the policeman placed his hand on Akihito shoulder, and started rubbing gently.

Akihito shuddered. "Don't touch me." Th officer leaned in closer to Akihito's ear.

"If you are a good boy, I can let you out now, you just have to do one little thing…" Akihito eyes flew wide open, and he stared at the policeman. Akihito's mouth curled up slightly to one side, the policeman not noticing it, and then Akihito's eyes sparkled.

" Did I hear you right? Repeat that again." The man smiled ."If you pay me, using your body, I will write it up as its self defence."

Akihito was shaking his head "It was self defence." not believing what he was hearing. "No fucking way; if that's how you get sex, you must be compensating for something, using your power of authority." and wiggled his little finger.

The policeman smacked his face. Akihito smirked and looked the policeman in the eye, and spoke. "By the time the sun rises, you will have lost your job, and maybe that hand you slapped me with, it will all depends on the way the winds blow." the policeman laughed.

"You're stuck in here with me, I can do what I like with you, and no one will ever know." Akihito smirk widened.

"How many times have you done this to innocent teens and students?" the policeman laughed harder this time.

"Too many to count, and you will be next." Akihito look up at the policeman, his head tilted to the side, his eyes wide, looking as innocent as possible.

"Sorry, I am gonna have to decline your offer." and smiled. The policeman grabbed Akihito's throat. "You'll do as I say!" he snarled. Akihito was trying to speak, he was trying to reach the officer's thumb to make him let go, when the choking stopped. Akihito coughed, then chuckled as he looked up at him.

"Well, first of all" Akihito pointed toward the doorway "l'd rather go with him, 'cause he's the type I would hit on, not you, and certainly not that ugly dude. Besides, I kinda belong to him already." Akihito had a big grin on his face.

" Secondly, you should learn to close the door tightly after yourself, and be more aware of your surroundings. You really don't know who you let in." the policeman snorted at that, giving Akihito an 'I aint falling for that' look.

When Asami spoke up and said "Akihito, shall we go." The officer turned around fast to see a very tall, attractive man, with an 'I am so going to kill you' look, who was holding his mobile phone, recording everything that had happened in the room.

The policeman was spluttering, trying to get some credibility back. "He can't walk out of here, he's under arrest for violent behavior. He put a man in hospital!" Stepping into the room, Asami stood beside Akihito, who was now over by the door.

"Let me introduce you to Prosecutor Kuroda Shinji, who has been watching the whole incident as I was recording it." Asami smiled coldly.

"You should have listened to Sensei Takaba Akihito, who is a respected member of the university teaching staff. I managed to see the recording of the whole incident at the club, and it is very clear, Takaba was indeed the victim." Asami took another step forward.

"Oh, and Prosecutor Kuroda would like a word." a slight cough was heard as Asami turned his phone screen around so that the officer could see it clearly.

"Your Chief Inspector is coming down to your head quarters right now, he seems rather grumpy that he was woken up. He will be coming to relieve you of your badge. You might as well stay put now as Internal Affairs is going to look into you conduct. Goodnight." Asami took another step closer, turned his phoned off, and slipped it into his coat pocket.

"You will have no job by sunrise, and that hand that struck this young man will be cut off. You tried to coerce him into performing a sexual favour, maybe even rape, and you also tried to strangle him. So, some time after the investigation has been completed, prepare yourself for some severe consequences from your action tonight." Asami growled.

The policeman believed every word he said.

"Oh, before we go, I will station a man on this door, just in case you are coward and try to run." Asami turned, looked at Akihito, and smiled, "Come, let's go, your friends are waiting, and a pretty young girl is with them too."

Asami placed his hand on Akihito back and gently walked him out from the room. Asami used his foot to slam the door on the soon-to-be former policeman's face.

Asami whispered in Akihito's ear "Six months in Japan, and l'm already bailing you out of jail." Asami chuckled. Akihito just pouted.

"One night, one fucking night, and two perverts try it on with me. It's not me, it Tokyo; definitely Tokyo. I'm gonna leave." Asami chuckled again. "Akihito, you are just a very delectable morsel." And gently rubbed Akihito's back.

Asami stepped to the side, as Takato and Kou jumped up and grabbed Akihito.

"We're so happy, we tried to explain but no one would listen; good job he showed up." Kou looked up at Asami, and frowned. "You look familiar…" Akihito coughed.

Asami cut in "I think your young lady friend might like to go home, she really shouldn't have spent the night in a police station." Asami smiled. "My limo is out front, the driver can take you all home, just tell him where all of you want to go."

Kou's face lit up while Takato looked at Akihito. "Are you coming too?" 'cause now, he knew who Asami was. Akihito just sighed.

"No, I want some fresh air. My home is about thirty minutes away, and I need some air after being in that room for three hours.," he smiled to encouragely at Takato. "I will be safe, so don't worry."

Kou was, as always, a little slow to the situation. "Did you see Aki, he was like Bruce Lee, it was a blur, that man's nose and leg. Wow." Akihito blushed.

"I think he might have had fragile bones, it wasn't really me." Akihito looked at the floor, a rose coloured blush now graced Akihito face.

Asami stepped forward. "I really think the young lady might like to go home. If you want to use the limo a little longer tonight you may, it has a stocked bar, so please help yourself." Asami said, pulling a cigarette out.

Akihito then started pushing his friends out of the police station. Kou and the young lady were amazed at the limo, jumping right in. Takato was a bit hesitant at leaving Akihito with Asami, but Akihito reassured him he'd be safe, and not to worry, he wanted to thank him for this evening's save.

The limo drove off. "They're gonna get a kick out of the limo. And they're gonna steal all your booze, just so you know." Akihito blushed as he looked to the ground.

Asami finished his cigarette, and walked towards Akihito "May I walk you home, Akihito?" Asami purred in Akihito's ear.

Akihito blinked. "Well, if you want to. I can take care of myself." Asami put one hand in his pocket, as they slowly started walking towards Akihito home. "I saw the footage, it was rather impressive, so I am aware you can look after yourself. But, I would like to walk you home anyway, especially since I am happy to see you again." Akihito just blushed some more.

"l usually have myself under better control, it must have been the alcohol. It was only two beers." then Akihito giggled.

"Operation 'Kou gets a girl' looks like it might have been a success." Asami raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, the young lady, who held Kou's hand the whole time I was trying to access that room." Akihito looked surprised.

"Thank you for tonight, you didn't need to come. I could have handled it by myself." he said, rubbing his neck. Asami just stood next to Akihito.

"l know you could have, and then injured a dirty cop, then lost your job." Akihito started rubbing his arms, and scratching his chest. His breath hitched, he hadn't realised he could have lost his job.

"Fuck, I'm going to lose my job anyway, once the university board finds out what I did to that man at the club. Shit." Akihito was getting more distressed, he knelt down to hold his knees, feeling like he was gonna throw up, and his mind racing.

"What was I thinking. Shit, I am gonna lose my job. Then what, go back to Hong Kong? Shit." Asami watched, some of what Akihito was thinking was said out loud, and he was rambling.

Asami knelt down beside him, and said "Akihito" in a firm tone, which woke Akihito out of his negative thought process.

Asami tilted his chin so Akihito would look him in the eyes. He spoke again, "Akihito", this time much softer. "Calm down. You won't lose your job, trust me. The evidence will show self defence, and you put away a dirty cop as well. You are innocent, so relax. You won't lose your job." Akihito just stared at Asami like a lost puppy, eyes wide and sparkling as he was just about to cry, lights reflected in them. "Really, I wont loss my job?"

Asami kept in mind Feilong's warning. Akihito is stronger but also still fragile, he could see now what Feilong was alluding to.

Asami's instinct was to pull him close and kiss him, to let him know everything was going to okay. But he pulled away and stood up, and grabbing Akihito's hand, he pulled him to his feet and gently dusted off Akihito's trousers. Asami didn't let Akihito's hand go, and started to walk towards Akihito's home.

Akihito didn't pull away as Asami intertwined there fingers. "That cop said I nearly killed that revolting man, who wants a teacher who could kill. Fuck." Asami stopped walking, Akihito nearly walked into his broad back. "As l recall, it was self defence, and you could teach lessons."

Akihito giggled at that comment, he felt better. "Maybe I could teach a self defence course to a few students." he smiled.

Akihito blushed as they continued walking. Asami hadn't let his hand go, in fact, he just ignored it. They both didn't speak, comfortably walking together in silence. Akihito wondered why, then thought to just ssk him something.

"Ryuichi, why did you come tonight personally, and not send your minions; plus how did you even know to come, did you have me followed?"

Asami stopped again, and turned around so he faced Akihito,. He slowly lifted Akihito's chin so he could look him in the eyes "Yes, as soon I found out you working at the university, I sent a body guard to keep an eye on you. Akihito, you do have a habit of getting into situations."

"Yeah, well, since you walked back into my life, I been accosted by two perverts." he said, biting his cheek to keep from including Asami in that category.

Asami raised their joined hands and gently rubbed Akihitoo's fingers across his lips. "As soon as you defended yourself, he was on the phone to me." he smiled. "I came personally as I wanted to see you again, and I am so glad I did. As I got to hear, you would only hit on me, and" a huge grin graced his face and his eyes were playful. "You belong to me. Oh yes, I have that recorded. I might just use it as a ring tone." he chuckled.

Akihito was just looking at Asami, feeling his lips on his fingers. He was half listening to what Asami was saying, but the electricity was building between them, a pool of heat was building below Akihito's navel. Asami could see Akihito's eyes glaze over, his eyes where lusting up. Asami's cock twitched, he could fuck him right here. As that thought flashed across Asami's eyes, Akihito read it. With lightning speed, Akihito swept Asami's out legs from under him and dropped him onto his back, with Akihito straddling him on the sidewalk.

Asami was surprised at Akihito's boldness and agility to get on top so fast. Akihito leaned forward, lips inches apart. They stayed that way, not moving, just staring, both feeling the other's arousal through their pants; both were hard.

"Feilong taught you well I see, Akihito." Asami smiled up at him, Akihito just looked smug. Asami reached up with his hand, and caressed his face, then held his cheek. Akihito closed his eyes and leaned into his hand. It just seemed so natural.

"Ryuichi, do you know how hard this is, excuse the pun." He opened his eyes, and looked at Asami, who enjoyed the pun, and twitched his cock to let Akihito know that he felt the same.

Asami then spoke in a firm, commanding tone "Akihito, listen to me." Akihito was in a trance. "Akihito, I love the way my name rolls off your tongue. It's actually turning me on, and right now my self control is on a very, very short leash. I want you in a heartbeat. However, being a gay teacher will properly cause more problem for you." Asami pushed upright, and gently rubbed Akihito's cheek. With that, Akihito's lust filled eyes disappeared, as he was brought out of his trance.

Akihito was just about to apologize. Asami smiled at Akihito, his eyes very much wanting.

"Don't, Akihito. l want you too, desperately. So please, come to Sion on Monday. I'll fit into your schedule. Then we can begin afresh. Have a new start." Asami seemed sad as he spoke.

Akihito got up, then helped Asami up. Asami pulled out his crushed cigarette packet and chuckled. Once he lit his cigarette, he took hold of Akihito's hand again and continued walking Akihito home.

Akihito was blushing. He had managed to pin Asami on the ground, without a problem, but holding hands had him blushing like a school girl. "Akihito, you definitely need some fucking help" he thought to himself.

Asami walked Akihito to his door, and gently kissed him, like a promise for something more. He held Akihto's neck, and gently massaged it. Akihito was about to moan, when Asami stopped. He knew if Akihito moaned, he would be pinned and fucked, right there and then.

Asami just looked at Akihito. "I will see you Monday, okay; and everything will be sorted out. Then you don't need to run from me anymore; then, you will stay." he caressed Akihito cheek again.

Asami motioned to Akihito to get inside his house. Akihito took his keys out of his pocket. Asami murmured "Go, get some rest", caressed his cheek one final time, then kissed him. Akihito walked through his front door. Once closed, Asami rested his forehead on the door, while on the other side, Akihito did the same.

Asami's SUV pulled up, and he quickly got into the back of the vehicle. He took his phone out and texted Akihito "Sleep well, Akihito. Your Ryuichi."

After reading the text, Akihito's stomach burst with a thousand butterflies. "I am seriously turning into a teenage girl; this has to stop."

"I will be at Sion at 10 a.m. Monday. Goodnight, Ryuichi". Akihito texted back, ignoring the need to scratch. He got ready and jumped into bed. For the first time since Asami showed up, Akihito felt like he was gonna be alright, and drifted off to sleep.


	7. Sion 10am

**Truth revealed.**

 **Chapter 7: Sion 10AM**

Kirishima's personal phone rang. He didn't recognise the phone number displayed, but answered it any way.

"Akihito here. I will be coming in for a meeting today with your boss, and I should be there around 10 a.m., okay? Also, I'm bringing a friend along, so I thought I'd let you know. And, I did text Asami with the time earlier. So, I'll see you later." The call ended abruptly, and Kirishima was surprised with Akihito's attitude.

Kirishima started to get everything ready for Akihito and company's visit. Asami was actually nervous, which surprised him even more. He had told Kirishima about Akihito letting him hold his hand on the way back to his house, so the possibility was there that not only wouldn't he run again, but he'd listen to Asami, too.

Asami had planned it so that before Akihito arrived, he'd had the experts in question downstairs, ready and waiting to explain how this hoax was carried out. He needed to prove his innocence, then tell Akihito that he was his first, and last, love. He had spent 3 lonely years longing for him. Sometimes it drove him crazy, waiting and wanting Akihito so badly. His old life must have been barren somehow, 'cause this had made him realise that whatever had been missing, Akihito was it.

Akihito finished his call to Kirishima. Putting his phone in his pocket, he started to be nervous. He didn't know what to believe. Asami hadn't spoken about that night once. Akihito's mind wandered. Does he think I'll just forgive and forget? Akihito wanted Asami badly, and it was hard just being near him. Asami's presence could always cloud his mind, but Feilong had convinced him to hear him out, and if what he had to say was just lies, or Asami was trying to play him, he'd know. Once and for all, he'd know. And he'd walk away, never to see him again. It was a good plan, as some kind of closure was what Akihito craved.

Akihito's mind whirled with thoughts of Asami from the other night. When he'd walked him home, he could tell Asami was different, more open in his emotions. Again, was this all part of a game…?

The sound of plane's tires hitting the tarmac pulled him out of his thoughts. Akihito had been waiting on the runway for Feilong's plane to land. As soon as the steps hit the ground, Tao came running towards Akihito, and grabbed him in a big hug.

"You've gotten taller again. Please, stop growing." Tao just laughed.

"Missed you too, nii-san." Akihito loved it when Tao called him 'brother'. Still in Tao's bear-like grip, Akihito looked over at Feilong. He smiled, and once he was free of Tao, Akihito gave Feilong a hug.

"Glad you're here. How are you?" Feilong smiled, happy. Akihito had forgiven him years ago, and he was grateful for a second chance.

"I've missed you too, Aki. I've been doing well." They all got into the waiting limo, and set off, chatting merrily about Tao and school. Akihito told them how he was enjoying becoming a teacher.

"We are meeting Asami at 10 a.m., hope that's okay. I told him I was bring a friend, but kinda forgot to mention who." Feilong laughed at the thought of seeing the look on Asami's face when he saw them together. Akihito realised what Feilong was laughing at, then car was filled with laughter.

Feilong was dressed in a dark blue tailored suit with a single button jacket, and a complimenting partially unbuttoned blue silk shirt. Akihito was stylishly casual in fitted dark blue jeans, with a green silk shirt and an amber brown jacket that hugged him around his hips. They walked right into Sion, side by side. They didn't stop at the receptionist's desk, and as the guards one by one recognized who these men were, all hell broke loose over the security network. As they exited the guest elevator at the top floor, Kirishima was shocked to see Feilong nonchalantly walking ahead of Akihito, like HE owned the building. Both of them looked like they had just strutted off the catwalk.

As Feilong ignored Kirishima and turned towards Asami's office door, he reached back and took hold of Akihito's hand. "You are ready for this, okay." he said, tilting his head down and to the side; he caught Akihito's eyes, then smiled. Akihito nodded and blushed a little from nerves.

Kirishima could only watch them go by, both of them projecting a sense of authority. He blinked, then quickly walked after them as Feilong opened the office door and they both strode in unannounced. Oh, he HAD to see this.

"Asami! A pleasure, as always." Feilong spoke with a hint of sarcasm, as he and Akihito went straight to the couch by Asami's desk and sat, uninvited.

Kirishima followed quietly, wishing he had one of Takaba's cameras handy, because the look on Asami's face was priceless.

Feilong was enjoying this just a little too much. Akihito leaned against Feilong, and said: "FeI... you promised to behave." Feilong just turned to Akihito, eyes bright.

"I am behaving, Aki", he replied, giving him a wink and squeezing his hand. "I haven't even started, yet."

Asami was sitting on the edge of his desk, gripping it a little too tightly. Surprised was an understatement. The way Akihito was interacting with Feilong pissed him off. They were acting 'way too close. He took a deep breath, and reminded himself that Akihito had said that he still wanted him; and then about what he had shared about his mental heath for the past 3 years. Feilong had been, and still was, supporting Akihito. Damn it, he needed a drink.

"Feilong, would you like a drink" he enquired, as he stood up, walked over to the bar and started to pour his best bourbon. Partially turning his head, he looked over at Akihito.

"Would you like one?" As another blush graced his cheekbones, Asami's cock twitched, just from watching him. Akihito was even more glorious than the other night.

Akihito nodded, and quietly thanked him. Asami's fingers softly brushed Akihito's hand as he passed him his drink. Akihito's breath hitched; the sexual tension suddenly in the room could be cut with a knife. Feilong watched how Asami interacted with Akihito, gentlely and carefully.

Feilong laughed, bring them back to reality. "I am still present you know, so Asami, behave."

Asami crooked an elegant eyebrow at Feilong." And just how could I forget?" he asked, sounding incredulous.

Feilong narrowed his eyes, and glared at Asami. "I am here to make sure Akihito is not stressed, and to advise him if you are being genuine."

Asami's face went blank. He felt hurt, but reminded himself that this was not about him, but about his fight for Akihito. Asami spoke, a little cooler towards Feilong.

"I have never lied to Akihito, and I never will." he turned his head and gazed at Akihito, who's eyes were wide with surprise. Asami's eyes and voice softened.

"I asked you to come today so that I could explain that night. I will be open and honest with you both." He sat back on the couch across from them, and sipped his drink.

"It's hard to explain, but please listen to all of it. I am going to show you 2 recording of that night." Akihito lifted his head, surprised and curious. He thought that he had the only one.

"I understand why you ran, and I understand why you sent the pictures to the paper. I just wish you had spoken to me first, but I even understand why you didn't." Asami looked at Akihito with sadness in his eyes as he leaned forward slightly. "I understand, Akihito. Are you willing to listen to what I have to say?" He actually sounded strained, which wasn't Asami's style.

Akihito observed Asami's body language: he was being open. Akihito grabbed Feilong's hand again, tucked it under his arm, and whispered "yes".

Kirishima placed a laptop on the table, and started preparations. Akihito nervously took a drink. Asami leaned back and smiled. Kirishima turned the laptop towards Akihito and Feilong so they could see the screen as Asami spoke.

"The first recording is from the hotel's internal cameras." It showed Asami in his tux, in a hotel, talking to different people.

"It's date stamped for that night. I was at the hotel for a charity ball. I told you beforehand where I was going, and what I would be doing there, Akihito." Asami sat still, watching him closely. "You got a phone call from the paper, asking you to work that night. I kissed you goodbye and left." Asami smiled.

Akihito just looked at Asami, not sure what was going on.

"Kirishima, please fast forward it 4 hours." Feilong watched the recording closely. Asami had never left the ballroom. The recording switched to the outside entrance of the hotel, showed the limo arriving and Asami leaving in it, alone.

"I was back at the penthouse about 3 a.m., after I had finished some business at Sion. I have recordings of me entering and leaving this building, if you need to see them."

Akihito wanted to ask some questions but just bit the inside of his cheek instead, trying to keep his temper under control.

Asami's voice turned cold and hard as he started to speak again.

"Now, the truth about your photos and recording." Akihito was sitting on the edge of the sofa, gripping Feilong's hand hard. He never wanted to see that recording again in his life. Asami watched and saw the distress etched on Akihito's face. Asami so wanted to hold and comfort him, but patience was required here.

Akihito braced himself, scared he'd break, so he just locked his eyes onto the laptop's screen, hoping he wouldn't falter. "Akihito" Asami commanded, wanting his boy to look at him. Akihito's eyes slowly looked up at Asami, his hurt building inside.

"Before I press play, you need to understand a few things. I'm sure you remember Sudou Shuu and that club owner Sakazaki." Asami wanted to throw up at the mention of his name.

"I believe that after the warehouse incident, you and I were under the impression that Sudou Shuu was dead from his injuries. Sakazaki's club burned down and he was trapped in his office. His corpse was pulled from the building once the fire was under control." Asami said, with a wishful tone.

Akihito just nodded in acceptance, they had never talked about what happened after Sudou kidnapped him and then got shot. He had his suspicions, but Asami never divulged any information. Akihito was just glad that Sakazaki was dead and he didn't have to think about him ever again.

"Well, I am sorry to say that we shouldn't have assumed anything, and I that failed in my duty to confirm that any danger to you, me or Sion was over." Asami eyes had a hint of fury in them.

"I believe it was they who came up with a plan that nearly destroyed Sion. And us." Asami's hand gripped his glass tightly.

"It almost worked. After you left, I knew getting you to believe me after what you saw with your owe eyes was going to be difficult. So, I arranged for our own investigation. Also, your editor helped us, as an independent investigator, so you would know that I haven't tampered with or manipulated any of the findings." Asami started to smile, he could see Akihito slowly understanding the situation.

"Your editor is downstairs, waiting to talk whenever you are ready. I did this so that when the time was right, I would be able to prove to you without any doubt, that what you recorded was a lie."

Akihito eyes snapped wide open at Asami, emotions running over his face: hurt, grief, hope and dawning relief. Asami smiled; Akihito was going to his. No matter what, he knew Akihito would believe him. Feilong took Akihito's hand, squeezed it gently, and smiled.

"Okay, Asami, we are willing to listen to whatever you have say. Now."

"The mastermind," Asami chuckled at the use of the term, "was apparently Sudou Shuu. He was first trying to gain power, then he thought that he could make me his lover."

Akihito and Feilong both laughed at the idea of "making" Asami do anything. Asami could see, they all could see, the utter delusion. Asami carried on.

"Sakazaki tried to weaken my position by bringing Sion down from the loss of valuable investors, as a distraction. With the media attention on me, I wouldn't be in a position to deal with the illegal side of my business. He was trying to convince my underworld connections that I had become unreliable, a liability. Then, they would either abandon me, or kill me. It nearly worked." Asami bent forward again to look Akihito in the eyes.

"You were meant to see, and believe, their fabrication, then do your job out of revenge. They were expecting me to retaliate against you, so I would be distracted on 3 fronts. Akihito, I never blamed you. They played both you and me."

Asami's anger was building. Akihito sat still, shocked. Asami smiled darkly; well, smirked.

"However, my Akihito" Icy shivers ran down his spine, like they always did whenever Asami spoke like that. He tried not to think of sweaty sex while he heard about the bastards who played him for a fool.

"The first thing that they hadn't figured on was you running to Feilong, which actually helped me as I knew you were safe." Asami bowed his head to Feilong with respect.

"The second was my ability to persuade the media and my investors so quickly that I had evidence proving it wasn't me in the hotel room; from then on I was only fighting on one front, thanks to some friends."

Anger boiled inside Akihito. His fist was clenched tight beside him, tears of rage were starting to fall. Feilong leaned over to Akihito and held him, while watching Asami look on with concern.

"Akihito needs to see the evidence, have you got it all here?" Asami sat back, and knocked the rest of his drink back.

"Yes. As I said, Mr. Ejin, editor of The Tokyo Times, helped us to prove independently that it was all a fake; well, part of it was a fake." Asami replied, back to smirking.

Feilong and Akihito looked at each other, while Asami put a second cigarette in his mouth, smiling, thinking that with any luck, Akihito would believe him and be back in his arm by the afternoon, and that he would never leave again.

"Downstairs are 2 very clever little geniuses. It was they that put me in that room when I wasn't there. Mr. Ejin will confirm that a tip came in, not through the switchboard, but to your department's main number and asked if the blond photographer was on duty, as they had a scoop for him. Mr. Ejin was suspicious, but ignored his gut. It had to be you and only you to witness the event." Asami sat down, looking poignantly at Akihito.

"Akihito, did you not think it was strange that I was in a hotel room on the 3rd floor, and not in the presidential suite? Then, there was a matter of the windows. I always close the curtains or shades, no matter what I am doing, so no one has the ability to look in." Asami looked smug as he watched Akihito start to put the pieces together.

"W-Well", Akihito stuttered. "I was in shock, you condescending bastard. I really wasn't thinking at the time. I was feeling fucking numb and very hurt." Feilong was trying to calm him down. Asami almost grinned. An angry Akihito was much easier to handle, and the fact he was calling him 'bastard' again actually pleased him.

Akihito looked at Asami suspiciously. "You said it was part fake. What does that mean, exactly." Even as he asked, he knew he wasn't going to like the answer.

"Well, my little kitten, they did need a recording of me having sex in the first place." Asami looked like the cat that caught the canary. "However, I was only sleeping with one very sexy blond..." Asami's smiled widened as he looked at Akihito.

"Why are you looking at me like that? And don't call me Kitten." Akihito's eyes narrowed with animosity. Asami was getting turned on as they stared at each other.

Feilong actually rolled his eyes, then ordered: "Asami, stop flirting." That broke Akihito's and Asami's trance. "Quit playing around, and get on with it. Now." Feilong was annoyed, and Akihito was getting there.

"Remember when I took you with me on a business trip to Osaka, and I dragged you around the city with me all day? We spent the night in my usual hotel, but the suite reserved for us was under renovation, so they gave us another room." Akihito just nodded, his stomach starting to churn.

"Someone told Sudou when and where we would be there. They had planted a small camera above the bed, I found it later. The hotel apologised, some workmen had a work order about the lights that kept failing in that room, so "electricians" were there in the room hours before us. They recorded us, then remotely sent the data to an outside terminal. Oh, but the good news is we have free accommodations there for life." Asami had a big self-satisfying grin on his face while Akihito glared daggers at him.

"Go ahead, Kirishima." Asami flashed an evil smile. "You'll enjoy this, Kitten."

Akihito was just about to erupt when Kirishima pressed play. Akihito watched, feeling his blood pressure climb, as he realised what he was seeing. It was Asami and himself, energetically fucking on the bed. He could see Asami's euphoric face as he orgasmed, and watched that muscular body tense. He mouthed "Akihito" as he rode his high, then flopped down beside him and kissed him on his shoulder.

"Oh, fuck" Akihito whimpered, mortified.

"Oh, yes" Asami purred, enjoying it thoroughly.

Akihito slammed the laptop shut, not ever wanting to witness that again with company.

"You have absolutely no shame, do you." Akihito sputtered, doing a face palm as he turned scarlet to the tips of his ears. Fuck, no wonder Asami looked so bloody happy.

Akihito's eyes became feverish, burning intensely; sitting beside him, even Feilong's could feel it.

"How did they do it?" he demanded.

"It was clever. You can speak to the ones who pulled this off, if you want to. They're now Sion employees, in our Tech department." Asami shrugged as he pulled out another cigarette and put it up to his lips.

"So you didn't… you never betrayed me." Akihito spoke slowly, looking at Asami. "I was played by those fucking shitheads." Akihito got up and started moving about, both hands rubbing his arms, muttering to himself.

"Fei, what do I do, I can't think straight. I don't know what to think, shit, SHIT, I want to kill someone, Fei-sama." Akihito was now pacing back and forth. He turned to Asami and demanded "Did you kill Suduo and that fucker Sakazaki?" Asami was watching Akihito's behavior intently.

"Are they dead? Did you make them suffer?" Akihito was working himself up and getting royally pissed; he was rubbing his chest now, just small scratches here and there, but it was starting to get worse.

Before Feilong could speak, Asami snapped out. "Akihito." He was furious, but used a firm tone. When he spoke, it made Akihito stop and shiver again. Asami noticed this, but right now he needed a distraction. "Feilong, go downstairs and talk to the technicians in question, so Akihito will know that this is not just a lie. Please. Kirishima, if you would be kind enough to show Feilong to that room. I want to talk to Akihito privately."

Akihito hadn't moved. He watched Asami, wondering what he was up to. Feilong stood, knowing exactly what was going to happen. He smiled.

"Akihito, you'll be okay; I believe Asami. Now: breath, remember you are in control. Just center your thoughts on your breathing." Feilong bent down and kissed Akihito's cheek gently. Then he nodded to Kirishima, and they both left the room.

Akihito was pissed. He was muttering to himself, and his scratching was starting to worsen. Asami walked over to Akihito and took hold of his hands to stop the action. "Look at me, Akihito," he purred in his ear.

Akihito looked up into his eyes. "Tell me they're dead, and you that made them suffer." Asami smiled with dark delight. This new Akihito was bold, daring. He could see the bloodlust and vengeance behind his words. 'Hmm, he really means it' Asami thought to himself, the idea going straight to his groin.

"Akihito, I will tell you everything, but please calm down, Kitten." Akihito eyes shot wider, looking like a trapped animal.

"Don't. FUCKING. Call me Kitten." With that, Akihito managed to free one hand and curled his body around Asami's. Before Asami realised it, he was on his back with Akihito on top of him, and the knife Akihito kept strapped to his calf was at his throat. Asami was looking up at Akihito, very impressed that he not only got the drop on him, but had him at knifepoint, too. Asami smiled as he moved the knife away from his throat, not taking his eyes off Akihito, his cock at full mast. With a low, sensual, gravelly voice he pulled Akihito closer.

"I have always been faithful to you. Through all the years you were gone, I have only thought of you." He could feel Akihito's cock getting harder, and he slowly rolled his groin up, into Akihito's. The look in the blond's eyes changed from bloodlust to different kind of lust. "Akihito, I want you."

As Asami spoke, their lips came together. Akihito was demanding, and Asami thought he'd let Akihito lead, at least for a bit.

Akihito licked Asami's bottom lip, then bite it. There was a hint of blood; Asami's pupils dilated even more, when Akihito grabbed handfuls of dark hair, and deepened their kiss. It was vicious, and animal like. Akihito took off the brunet's tie, then ripped Asami's shirt open, and started biting and licking at his neck and chest. While Akihito was distracted, Asami undressed him. He noticed the bloody scratches on his arms, and his chest had bright red patches of skin, but the material was soft and supple around his thighs, so Akihito couldn't get enough friction to mar his skin. Asami's patience was done as he flipped Akihito over, and caged him, marking him down his neck to his collarbone. He was beautiful, more than he remembered.

"Akihito" he breathed in his ear, watching as his body trembled. He looked into Akihito's eyes as he firmly pushed their groins together, feeling their pulsating heat.

"Akihito, tell me what you want...Kitten." His eyes flared, a fire burning brightly inside. The bloodlust was gone, his carnal lust taking control. He was panting slightly.

"I want you, Ryuichi. I've stayed faithful too, there's been no one else. You are the only one that I've ever wanted; I've only thought of you. So, fuck me. Now." Akihito, breathing faster, thrust upwards towards Asami's hips. Asami grinned wider.

"Always too impatient, Kitten." Looking like the cat that eat the canary, Asami bit hard where his shoulder curved up into Akihito's neck, just along his pulse. Akihito moaned loudly.

"More."

"I will do anything you want." He kissed Akihito until he groaned, then kissed, sucked and nipped at his nipples. As his other hand traveled down to his trousers, he lifted Akihito up to stand in front of him. He pulled his lover's trousers down, engulfed Akihito's cock, and sucked, hard. Akihito was grasping Asami's hair tightly.

"Oh" he sobbed "I'm cum… ming." Asami swallowed every drop. Mmm, how he'd missed that taste. He was holding the younger man's waist so he didn't fall.

Asami stood up, still supporting Akihito. After sucking on own his fingers, he pushed 2 of them deep into the soft hole between those round cheeks. Akihito sighed like it was a forgotten memory, then went somewhat limp.

"A body this wanting must be taken care of." Asami lifted him up in his arms, and Akihito wrapped his legs around Asami's waist. Once 3 fingers were inside his body, Asami freed his own cock. He chuckled as Akihito moaned at the loss of his fingers.

"Kitten. I will give you everything you desire... because I love you." and with one intense thrust into Akihito's ass, he screamed "Ryuichi!", and started seeing stars. Asami couldn't believe his cock fit so perfectly. It was meant only for Akihito, they were made for each other. As he thrust deeper into his boy, he started screaming raggedly.

"More! Harder, dammit. Faster! I need you!" Asami chuckled, oh, his voice was beautiful. Asami, still holding the smaller man, walked to the couch, then slowly removed his cock and placed him tenderly on the couch. Akihito was begging for its return, and in one stroke Asami was thrusting deeper, harder, listening to the mantra Akihito always moaned, hitting his pleasure spot repeatedly. Akihito now couldn't string a sentence together. Asami's hand encompassed Akihito's cock, and started to pump it, in time with each thrust, Akihito screaming " I coming again!" in a desperate voice.

Asami squeezed on his cock harder. "Not yet baby, you need to beg me for it", and on cue, Akihito was crying and pleading. Asami had missed this so much, his control was unraveling with each word. His powerful lover kissed Akihito before he pulled away to watch him, his thrusts getting harder, the edge approaching quickly.

"Come for me, my cute Akihito" he panted as he released his cock, and on cue his sperm spilled like pearls over his chest. At the same time, Akihito's ass muscles clenched and tightly clamped Asami's cock, causing him to growl. With his boy's name on his lips, Asami came deep inside Akihito. As the high of their orgasms faded, he rested his head on his lover's chest, with a smile as big as the Cheshire Cat's. Akihito was trying to catch his breath, then started laughing. Asami raised his head and looked at him with a crooked eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" Akihito smiled and caressed his face.

"Nothing, Ryuichi, just happy." Asami smiled back, his cock twitching again as his name slipped from Akihito's smile.

"Mmm, care for round two?" Akihito grinned as his cock was stirring

"Round two sounds good." Asami was still rather hard inside him.

He purred into Akihito's ear. "Ride me, Kitten." As he swung Akihito up to straddle his lap, Asami fell back onto the couch. Without hesitation, the slender blond started pounding onto Asami's cock. 3 years of wanting, yearning for, needing this. Asami watched intently as Akihito pounded onto him. He started thrusting when Akihito slowed slightly, his legs becoming like jelly. Asami could feel Akihito's warm breath on his skin as he slipped his hand 'round Akihito's cock and stroked it. Akihito looked into Asami's eyes, breathing heavy.

He whispered "Did you say you love me?", a twinkle in his eye as he ground down harder onto Asami. Akihito threw his head back, as Asami thrust up hard, always hitting his sweet spot. Akihito was coming, he could feel the pulsing heat from his cock.

"I love you more when you come for me."

That was it. Akihito screamed "Ryuichi!" as his back arched, then he slowly started falling backwards. Asami grabbed him and kissed his chest. A few more thrusts, and Asami came again. Asami knew that his boy was home, and he would never lose him again. Akihito was his completely now.

Feilong looked at Kirishima, eyebrows raised. "Were they always like this?"

Kirishima shook his head. "They were a lot worse". Feilong just laughed.

Once cleaned up and feeling refreshed, Akihito slowly got dressed. Asami pulled him onto his lap, kissed his neck and carefully pulled his arms up to look at them. Asami had opened his medical kit, and started to clean and bandage Akihito's arms. Akihito could see the concern in his face.

"It's under control. I will overcome this too, so don't look so worried."

Asami, kissing his neck, said "I will always run to stop you from falling, because I would never want to see you hurt." Akihito started tearing up, and Asami kissed them away. The crimelord was just being so gentle.

"Akihito." He kissed his neck. As he finished with his arms, he put the silk shirt back on. "Nice clothes, by the way."

Akihito looked sheepish and rubbed his neck. "Oh, my condition flares up with stress, so the softer materials cause less damage to my skin. Tao helped me shop while I was in Hong kong. I've been paying Feilong back out of my salary." Asami chuckled.

"You really don't take gifts well. I am sure Feilong never even noticed the cost, and was happy just to give you some peace of mind."

Akihito was surprised at how Asami spoke about Feilong, "Did you think I would be upset about you going to Feilong?" Asami gently stroking Akihito back.

"Well, yes." Asami gently pulled Akihito closer to kiss him, a deeply sensual kiss, and pulled away when Akihito moaned. 'That never gets old' Asami thought.

"I made a life choice while you were away. If my cute Akihito came back to me, I would make him mine again. I understand now that it has always been you, for me, my destiny. However, I pushed you away. I thought my actions were enough to show you, but you needed to hear it, too. But I played mind games until it was too late. You couldn't come to me, you were more afraid of me than you loved me. So, I promised myself that I would let you in; but you were already there, like a moth circling a flame. I realised that you and me together are stronger, two hearts burning brighter as one.

Akihito blushed a dusky rose color. "You're a romantic, stop it, you are just so embarrassing." Asami laughed. A proper, honest laugh.

"Kitten, you seemed to have learned some new moves yourself."

Akihito rolled his eyes, thinking 'Asami's never gonna stop calling you that, so just relax and leave it.' "Fei... helped me channel my emotions and energy into more constructive things, like learning languages. Feilong has trained me in some of his assassin techniques, so I have a black belt in 2 different martial arts." Asami laughed.

"You really should teach self-defense" Akihito frowned.

"Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not, it's Feilong. He is the most emotional person I have met. The pair of you are both alike in many ways; but you are the more beautiful one." Akihito blushed again, and gave a small pout.

Asami was stroking his hair when he noticed Akihito's tattoo. "What is this Akihito?" Akihito sighed.

"Seriously, you don't know a tattoo when you see one?" He was starting to feel like he was getting the third degree.

"Akihito. I've just missed so much, and I'm trying to catch up." Asami stroked his cheek.

"Well, during my stay in Hong Kong, Fei and I got close. I mean, he saved me, took care of me and helped make me into the man I am today; actually, both he and Tao did. After a while, I took his Baishe tattoo so I could go out and about. After about a year, we became family. He and Tao are now my brothers."

Akihito look up nervously from under his bangs, waiting for Asami to get upset. Asami just sighed. "I missed a lot, all because I couldn't communicate to you." Asami kissed Akihito chastely.

"You are my lover, you shouldn't be afraid of me; well, maybe you should, just a little. From today on, believe that I want you, and I want this go work too, so please tell me anything and everything, and I will try to do that for you too." Asami's hand gently caressed Akihito side.

Akihito tilted up to face Asami. "I am willing to give this a try, 'cause if you leave me or throw me away, if you ever betray me, I will kill you." Akihito smiled as he ghosted a kiss across Asami's lips.

"I will take all of you Ryuichi, including your darker side, and give you all of me. No more secrets." Asami started kissing Akihito's neck all the way to his collarbones again.

" Deal. That statement works both way, Kitten. You're not too bad at being romantic yourself." Just before Akihito could complain, he bit hard enough that Akihito moaned loudly.

Asami looked at his blond lover as he reached to get another cigarette. "What?"

Akihito lit it for him, and he blew the smoke to the side, away from Akihito. "You smoke 'way too much. You can cut it out." He asserted with concern.

"You know the scum that nearly ruined us…" Asami began, breathing in the nicotine.

"The Evil Masterminds?" Akihito sneered, feeling a little sick inside. "Yes. I really hope they suffered." He wrapped his arms around Asami's neck, as he straddled him again and made himself comfortable sitting on his thighs. Asami snaked his arm around Akihito's trim waist.

"You really were made for me, Kitten." Akihito pulled back a little and looked him in the eye.

"Tell me in detail what you did to them. In excruciating detail. Remember: trust." Asami started kissing him intensely. Asami was satisfied. He looked at Akihito: he was beautiful, and he was all his. Asami realised Akihito was fidgeting on his lap; he was getting turned on again. Damn, Kitten. Asami started thinking about business stats himself.

"Actually, I didn't do anything to them." Akihito stiffened in anger. He was about to get off Asami's lap when Asami tightened his hold. Fury erupted within him.

"You've done nothing? What crap are you talking about; don't you fucking care?!" Asami, still smiling, kissed him.

"Mmm, technically I haven't done anything to them. YET." Akihito looked at him, puzzled.

Asami continued as his hands slowly moved up Akihito back. "I have them. I kept them as a present for you. I captured Sudou about a year after you left, and that other one 6 months later; he was a slippery eel. Oh, I was planning some wonderful torture, then I though of you, and decided I would wait for you to come back so we could deal with them together."

Akihito stared at AsamI as a predatory look came over his face. He got off his lap, and then slowly undressed. Totally naked, he settled back on Asami 's lap. Before he blinked, he was on his back, Asami's hands all over Akihito's body: nipples, cock and mouth. Akihito was overloaded with pleasure and pain; Asami was like a musician playing his favorite instrument. Akihito caught his breath as looked up at a naked Asami.

Akihito groaned "Stop teasing, and get to business… unless you've gotten old. And rusty. It HAS been a while..." Asami gave him a wicked smile.

He bent over and whispered in Akihito ear: "You will pay for THAT comment. I've kept the secret room ready for your return." Akihito's body quivered, and he swallowed at the thought. His mind went blank as Asami's cock started thrusting into him.

A couple of hours later, they were ready to leave the office. Akihito paused before he opened the office door. "What if I hadn't returned?" Asami had an amused smile.

He shrugged. "I would have gone out and got you."

"You, are still an insufferable bastard." Akihito had turned away to open the door and exit the office, when strong arms wrapped around his waist, and pulled him tight against a large, solid mass. Asami nibbled his ear and purred.


	8. The enemy of my enemy

Chapter 8: The enemy of my enemy is my friend

Everyone else had left, only Feilong, Kirishima and Asami was still taking about the fine details of the plot. "So, we know how this was done with projectors, mirrors and a recording of us, but seriously, are you saying that those tech guys wanted Asami's business to fail?" Akihito asked, feeling somewhat left out of the discussion.

Asami sat down beside Akihito, gathered him up and pulled him onto his lap. "The main thing today was for you to know the truth, and to clear my name, both private and business, once and for all. Your editor has already written an apology and states we're still looking for the culprits behind the attack." Asami nuzzled Akihito's cheek, who blushed straight away. "Quit it" he muttered, looking at him from the corner of his eye.

"So, how did you know who was behind it, then?" Akihito continued, feeling like he was just going around in circles.

Feilong spoke up. "It was I who gave him the names. I don't know if you remember, Akihito, it must have been a week or so, after you had arrived in Hong Kong, and Mikhail had made an unplanned visit. I asked if you would keep a low profile around the house, for a little while." Akihito paused for a second, and then recalling the memory, he nodded.

Feilong's flashback:

Akihito was called into Feilong office. "Sorry about this, Aki, but Mikhail has announced that he is staying in Hong Kong for a few days while we conduct some business." Feilong looked concerned at having both Akihito and Mikhail here, in close proximity.

"Would you mind keeping a low profile within the house for a few days?" Akihito shrugged.

"Okay, for you." Feilong smiled as he watched Akihito leave.

Mikhail arrived that afternoon with a few of his men, much sooner than expected, to his surprised annoyance. 'Akihito is safely curled up in Tao's room, probably playing on the PS4'.

Feilong was always gracious to unwelcome/unwanted guests. Mikhail arrived later than expected, due to a layover at Tokyo. Feilong offered him dinner so they can discuss business, which Mikhail accepted immediately. It's not like Feilong hated him, he just knows Mikhail is much too smart for comfort. Feilong cannot figure out if he is a confidant, a con man, or both. That's why he gives Feilong headaches.

Feilong suspects Mikhail was infatuated with him, and tried to limit flirting to a minimum during their meal. Feilong wants to discuss business, and not what he is wearing beneath his clothes. He pretty sure that it's a tactic meant to lower his guard, in more ways than one.

"Mikhail, back to business, before I shoot you." Feilong says, feeling exasperated.

"Okay, okay." Mikhail chuckled, holding his hands in a mock gesture of surrender.

They were discussing trade routes, with a possibility of an alliance which could be beneficial to both Baishe and Russian stability. Slowly sipping wine and listening to some of Mikhail's stories, Feilong actually laughed at a few. He has to give him credit, Mikhail was a good story teller.

It piqued Feilong's interest when Mikhail mentioned that while in Tokyo, he'd seen the newspaper stories about Asami's scandal, and how Asami's lover had exposed his homosexual affair after alleged infidelity; such poetic justice. He'd heard Asami's empire was crumbling to the ground, a few sources mention there could be an attempt to remove Asami from power permanently.

Feilong set his glass down. "Tell me: how do you know all this?" he asks, as he attempts to extract some information.

Mikhail cocked his eyebrow, knowing Feilong was always interested in Asami Ryuichi. Mikhail concluded quickly that there would be nothing to lose by telling him, and maybe he might gain some insight into Feilong and Asami's relationship.

Mikhail kind of liked Asami. He's a good partner for business, reliable unless that pet of his is involved. He remembered Hong Kong: if bloody Yuri hadn't gone after… Akihito?, he thought the boy's name was, he would have been able to secure a permanent business partnership with Feilong long ago.

"I have a few informants around Tokyo, its good to know what certain people are up to. Anyway, I was introduced to a small time businessman called Sakazaki, who informed me that he had rescued a'friend'that used to work closely with Asami, and had inside information of how Asami's business works." He said, leaning back on his chair. "So, Sakazaki introduced me to one of Asami's ex-employees."

Feilong smiled. "You either want an idea of how Asami's mind works, or how to bypass him all together, is that correct?"

Mikhail laughed. "Feilong, you are as intelligent as you are beautiful, my flying dragon." He said, reaching for his hand.

Feilong merely picked up his glass; Mikhail laughed again. "Sakazaki introduced me to quite an attractive young man named Sudou Shuu. He'd been shot by a rival of mine named Aaron. I realised that he had been working with Aaron, by selling a few crates of goods without permission, to try and impress Asami. However, Asami was quick to realize his duplicity, and intervened." he related, swirling the wine around his glass.

"While this is fascinating, what has it to do with Asami?" Feilong asks, rolling his eyes.

"Sakazaki and Sudou are small fish in a big pond, however, there was no harm into looking into possibly using them in the future. Mostly, they were more mouth than anything else. But, Sudou is intelligent. He's misguided, but could be useful down the road."

Mikhail kept quiet on the mens' present whereabouts; namely, which one was in Russia. Mikhail hid his giggle behind another sip of wine. "Sudou has limited knowledge about Asami's running of his trade routes, but then Asami gives vital information to a very select few." Mikhail shrugged, laughing.

"Sudou is in love with Asami. Even though he double-crossed his boss, he thought he would gain influence and somehow become his lover."

Feilong scoffed. "Seriously, taking someone into your bed who double-crossed you. That doesn't sound too clever to me."

Mikhail just mused. "I will have to keep my eye on that personality trait." He had a slightly colder tone in his voice, the first time this evening.

"Asami thinks he's dead. Sudou kidnapped Asami's plaything and tried to kill him. No wonder Asami ordered a hit on him. Sakazaki rescued him before that happened, I think, to use his limited knowledge as well."

Feilong frowned at the thought of Akihito being kidnapped again. Mikhail noticed Feilong's reaction as he spoke about Asami's lover.

"Feilong. Are you in love with Asami, or is it his Akihito?" Mikhail asks with a curious and slightly vexed tone.

Feilong just glares at him. "What business is that of yours?"

Mikhail smiles. "Nothing really, just curious about you two. You seemed… close."

"I don't have to tell you anything." Feilong states, making it clear that Mikhail is on thin ice.

"Well, if we are to have a "business relationship", I do need to understand the competition, Feilong." Now Feilong's head is starting to hurt.

"Look, Asami and I are business partners. He is trustworthy to a degree, cunning as a fox, and one can never safely underestimate him. But no, it's just business with us. Once, I had wanted personal revenge, but someone told me it would lead to my own destruction, so now it's just business. He is a loyal partner, but, if you betray him, he'll show no mercy."

Sighing, Mikhail says: "It doesn't seem to pay, to mix business with pleasure."

Feilong looks at Mikhail, and queries: "What has that to do with me?"

Mikhail shrugs. "I've learned that Sakazaki has someone in Sion ready to kill Asami while he is distracted with saving his company." Mikhail watches Feilong carefully.

"Well, that would be unfortunate for my business interests. Better the devil you know…" Feilong trails off, frowning slightly.

"Fei, are your concerned?" Mikhail mocked. Oh, that made Feilong mad.

"DON'T call me 'Fei.'"

Mikhail smiled, amused. "Understand that I actually agree with you; Asami is the far better party to deal with. Sakazaki is not even close to my, your or Asami's caliber, so if I tell you names, would that suit our business relations, and maybe earn some trust between us?"

Feilong smiled to himself, finished his wine, and glanced over to Mikhail. "Who introduced you to Sakazaki?" Feilong had felt a coiling in his gut, there was something Mikhail hadn't told him. Whether it was important or not, he didn't yet understand.

"Feilong, you know better than to ask." he replied, frowning as he look at his host. Mikhail's usual persona is jovial, so Feilong felt he had hit a nerve.

"Mikhail. I know we need to keep secrets, it's essential in our business." Feilong chose his words with care. "Again, I'm only asking due to the concern that if someone is trying to take Asami, then it will affect my business, too. So, how did this person know you'd be interested in some small fish?"

"I will say this to you as gesture of good faith, then: this man is like Asami. He's a broker of sorts, living under the radar. He can get information on just about anyone. And, he came to me with a name." Feilong could feel Mikhail's tension.

"...He gave you a name, freely..." eyes narrowed, he now looked suspiciously at Mikhail.

"Yes, which is still bugging me. His information was correct at the time, but truth be told, he isn't someone I would like to get to know further. Now, that's all I am willing to say at the moment. So, let's celebrate the start of our profitable business relationship." Mikhail's grins, grabbing his drink.

Feilong eyes looked down, then he smiled, finished his wine, and glanced back at Mikhail. "Actually, this would be the beginning of the start of a profitable business relationship." Feilong says smugly.

Mikhail starts laughing. "Fei-sama, you are delicious."

Feilong glares at him, not rising to his bait.

Feilong started thinking: if Asami was taken out, then there would be war. Small factions would try to claim the crown, and it would all fall apart. That's why Mikhail told him: he needs a foothold in Tokyo and his best chance was through him to Asami. 'Fuck, he played me. Crafty bastard.' Feilong's thinks. Better to have him as a friend than an enemy.

Feilong had been mulling over his conversation with Mikhail, and couldn't decided if he should tell Asami or not. Well, at the least, he'd owe him a few favors, which was never a bad thing. His thoughts went back to Akihito. He was slowly starting to heal. Mentioning Asami right now might set him off again. It had only been a few days, and Tao was the only one to get through to him, somehow.

'I will keep Akihito out of it for now, while I prepare for war. It looks like Mikhail doesn't want there to be in any disruptions, either; it's bad for business.'

"Asami here." The voice answering sounded rough.

Feilong replied, using his smoothest tone: "Asami, a little information, and you will then owe me two favors."

"Feilong, don't play games. I am NOT in the mood." He was aggravated as he had been speaking to ignorant investors for most of the past week. Luckily, he had a silver tongue, and Sion was slowly stabilizing.

"A little bear has told me 2 names that would interest you. Sudou Shuu and Sakazaki..." with that, he heard Asami swear, and the sound of glass shattering.

"Feilong, I do owe you 2 favors." Oh, Asami was angry.

"I will need both your and Mikhail's help sometime in the near future. Who'd have thought that the enemy of my enemy is my friend." He said, tiredly rubbing his face in disbelief.

"Feilong, this would mean that I now owe you three favors, and I owe Mikhail one as well." Asami says, shaking his head.

" I know this course of action may come back and bite me in the ass someday, however, you 2 are my safest options to avoid all out war." Asami started chuckling at the idea of his 2 dangerous crimelord rivals closing ranks with him.

"I will contact you soon." Asami said before the call ended. Feilong got annoyed at Asami's assumption that he and Mikhail would help.

'I fear the wrath of Asami's vengeance on those who mess with what is his.' Feilong contemplated for a moment. 'Serves them right. It will send a strong message that would ripple throughout Southeast Asia, not to mess with any of us.'

'Shit!' Feilong realised. 'I've got to ask Mikhail for his help. Uh, he's good: Asami owes him a favor, and now I'll have to owe him one, too.' he thought as he banged his head on the table.

Akihito hated being cooped up in this room, not knowing how long Mikhail was here for. He remembered that perverted Russian. The bastard had touched him, and that fucking Yuri guy had tried strangling him. He still had the odd nightmare about that. Asami had helped to take the bad dreams aware, but he not here anymore.

'I'm all alone' his thoughts began to spiral. Akihito hunched into himself, arms wrapped around his knees, rocking back and forth, with tears running down his face. Luckily, Tao came in, saw Akihito's state and started shaking him, trying to make him realize he was in the room. Finally, Akihito slowly came out of his trance. Tao was anxious.

He pleaded "Akihito, Akihito. Remember what Robin said: center your thoughts, and breath slowly." Akihito looked like a lost lamb. Tao hugged him. "It's okay, it's fine, I'm here for you."

They sat together like that for awhile, before Tao broke off with "Come, let's get something to eat", pulling Akihito to his feet. Tao and Akihito were walking by the balcony when they heard a couple of Russians talking. Akihito hated and feared Russians, especially Mikhail, but he woundn't have a meltdown in front of Tao. Tao was quietly listening, but Akihito was oblivious to the conversation, except he had heard the name Izaya.

Akihito's shoe brushed against a potted plant, and started it rattling. Russian guards started shouting and pointing upwards. Tao looked over the edge of the balcony and waved his hand slightly, and the guards relaxed. When Feilong and Mikhail came out, Feilong quickly sent Tao back to his room, knowing instinctively that Akihito was nearby.

As soon as Mikhail had left his estate, Feilong went into Akihito and Tao's room. "Well, what was that about?" Feilong scowled, trying to be all authoritative, which made Akihito laugh. Tao explained he'd thought that the 'guests' had left, and Akihito needed some fresh air and a meal. Feilong hugged him. "Akihito, I promise you, while you are here, you will not be harmed. Understand?" he asked, kissing his mop of blond hair.

Present day, Sion:

Asami could feel Akihito's fatigue, and decided to call it on this meeting. Feilong smiled, Akihito looked contented.

"I will return to my hotel, to rest. Tao will be anxious."

Akihito looked up at him, then turned to Asami. "I think I need to go too; there are things that I need to work through." Akihito yawned.

Asami froze, and squeezed him tighter, in an unconscious response. Akihito could feel Asami not want to let go, he understood as he felt he wanted to stay here with him, as well.

"Ryuichi" Akihito said, in a honeyed voiced. "I will go with Feilong now, Tao will be waiting. Let me sort my shit out, you can get on with your business day, then maybe tonight we could have some more sushi together." Akihito beamed. Asami relaxed slightly, and whispered "But, I don't want to let go" into Akihito's ear.

Akihito watched his face; he seriously, sincerely meant it. Asami's arms embraced him tighter. Sighing, he kissed his neck. "I know. Now, sushi: take out or eat in?" Akihito could feel Asami smiling into his neck.

"Pick me up at 8, okay?" He whispered against Asami's temple. "We'll eat in; happy?" Asami purred and kissed Akihito lightly on his mouth. "Very."

Akihito quickly gave him a peck on the cheek, then slipped away from his grasp so Asami couldn't grab his waist again, leaving Asami gobsmacked.

Akihito reluctantly pulled away from Asami and walked towards Feilong. "Well, shall we go, Fei ?" Feilong was rather surprised, he thought Asami wouldn't let him out of his sight.

Feilong put his hand on Akihito shoulder. " Yes, lets go back. Tao wants to talk with you, and I have to return to Hong Kong tonight."

Akihito nodded. He glanced back, Asami was talking to Kirishima about business for the rest of today, and about having their reservations made, meal ordered and having an exit plan ready for picking up Akihito up 8 p.m. When he caught Asami's eye, Akihito winked and said "See you tonight."

As Feilong and Akihito walked out of the office, Feilong gave a nod to Asami, an unspoken agreement that he would be leaving Aki in his care. Asami nodded back, thankfully acknowledging it was Feilong who had made today possible.

His Akihito was mentally stronger, and physically much quicker and more agile than he was before. Asami smiled, amused. This was going to be much more fun than he'd thought...

T.B.C...


	9. 9 guess who

Chapter 9:: pain it the ass

Akihito was back, and the two were whole again. And tonight, they would start to make up for three hard years of separation. Asami actually hadn't stopped wearing a satisfied grin since their meeting that morning, so more than a few investors and others he had meetings with were perplexed over Asami's smug expression.

Soon after Akihito had left Japan, Asami was ready to go to Hong Kong and get him, once he had caught the men involved. But Feilong had insisted that if he were to come for him too soon, it might have been detrimental to Akihito's stability. Even with all the evidence Asami had gathered by then, the blond was still feeling hurt and betrayed, and most likely wouldn't have listened. Feilong had assured Asami that he would help them both, and would steer Akihito in the right direction.

Feilong could see it everyday, how much stronger Akihito had been becoming. His confidence and self worth were back; but in Akihito's eyes, his fire had dimmed down to embers. Anyone could see that he only wanted one person, but his stubborn pride wouldn't allow him near Asami. Feilong had had a hard time convincing Asami to have patience and let his lover come back to him, but today had been so very worth it.

Asami's mood had been darker, more feral before the capture of the men involved, but Kirishima and Suoh were good men, and had worked tirelessly for their friend. And after their capture, for the first time in Asami's life, he wasn't sure what to do with those two: whether he should butcher them, and slake his own thirst for vengeance, or await Akihito's return, and go from there. That they needed to feel agony, and had to suffer for the pain they had put his young lover through, though, had been beyond any question.

Asami's mind flitted back to this morning again, reliving the reunion with Akihito. He had to hide a bigger grin behind a cupped hand over his mouth. His boy had got the drop on him, not once but twice!; and then the bloodlust...where had THAT come from? Mmm, mental note: ask Feilong what exactly he had been teaching him…

Kirishima walked into the office with coffee and some sandwiches. As he ate, he sat musing at the thoughts now flooding his mind. What would happen to the two bastards that had nearly taken away everything that he valued was a moot point. Feilong had never asked what had happened to Suduo and Sakazaki. But Akihito, as always, was such a curious little thing, so when he started wanting Asami to tell him their fate in minute detail, Asami's golden eyes flickered with mischief. Humming contentedly to himself, he leaned back comfortably in his office chair, looking out over his Tokyo, and smiled again. Akihito was home.

Asami's mood shifted slightly, thinking back again. It had annoyed him greatly, with the media's constant hounding him in his personal and business affairs, so when a certain young man had offered his help, he had agreed against his better judgement; but really, what else could he have done? Asami's belly coiled as he remembered that particular long day. Most of those days were long, however, due to a certain somebody's appearance, that day became even more trying than usual. Asami rubbed his eyes, trying not to remember, but his braun ignored his command and brought back in Technicolor the morning his life got vastly more complicated after the photograph was first published.

*flashback*

Roughly a year after the newspaper article had come out, and still no Akihito. It had been another long day in what had been a very long eleven months since he had fled. But Asami knew he was safe where he was, and that was the main thing. With all the media attention and his not-so-friendly business acquiescences, Akihito would have been in danger, had he stayed. Asami also knew he was hurting, and it had taken an awful lot of control and determination not to go and bring him home.

The media were still in a frenzy. They had kept on digging and nearly everywhere he went, someone was there watching, so luckily he had managed to keep his illegal side of the business under some tenuous control. When it came to clandestine meetings that had to take place, Kirishima was an absolute genius.

He was alone in the penthouse, readying for another day of battle. He'd spent the day before putting to bed what he'd loosely call a small 'business associate'; more like young children trying to keep up with the big boys, making a play to take over some important business belonging to him. But, a bullet here, a conversation there, and that was that. It still hadn't stopped smaller groups from trying to undermine or overthrow him.

Asami was getting bone tried. It didn't help that every night he'd return to an lifeless condo, 'cause without Akihito, his penthouse was felt empty, and his bed was cold and barren. He knew that this had been his life before Akihito, and he had thought it had been fine, but then his little wildcat appeared, and just like a tornado, he had gone whirling through his life, stirring his emotions up, and making him feel complete. Sentimental feelings weren't a part of Asami's make up, but Akihito brought them out; and once they were out, they just didn't want be put away again.

So catching the fuckers that had planned this and making them pay were what his life was about now. It was a painfully slow process, but he'd would get them eventually; and when he did... This thought was interrupted by Kirishima entering the kitchen with today's agenda. A new group of investors were threatening to pull out, and some other small vermin was trying to get up to 'whatever' in his territory. So, with any luck, he was going to get to kill someone today. Kirishima was back to making his breakfasts. They had returned to what he privately thought of as his 'pre-Akihito days', which made him miss his brat even more.

Drinking his coffee, not really listening to Kirishima talk, while paying no attention whatsoever to the day's schedule, Asami's mind wandered a little to how the investigation was going so far. It had taken a few days, but he had that young man from the hotel room, who, due to his drug confused mind was completely unhelpful with his inquiries. But, he had taken pity on the youth who had vaguely resembled his cute Kitten, and did the unthinkable: he'd helped the young man out with rehab and a job. When had he become so soft?

Then the fingerprint that was lifted from the room led him to the computer geeks who had made a semi-hologram of him in the hotel room. They were just out of work graduates who needed money, and they weren't helpful, either. They gave a description of their client that came out to an "ordinary business man" that requested help for a prank for a colleague's bachelor party. They had been suspicious, but the money that was offered, they really couldn't say no to. The techno geeks were bright and intelligent enough, so he'd hired them on at Sion.

Some days where longer than others, and their investigations were sometimes painfully slow.

Feilong had called with two names a few days after Akihito had left that made his blood simmer: two men he needed to be catch and make bleed very, very slowly. Thinking of way to torture them had kept his mind sane, so to speak.

Then, another day without Akihito would pass by. Knowing that Feilong was looking after him and protecting him had allowed Asami to be able to concentrate on saving his business interests. But wondering how far he could trust Feilong from try anything with his Kitten again could drive him crazy. The few conversations he'd had with Feilong about Akihito were the bare minimum: he knew that Akihito was badly hurt, emotionally, but Feilong never divulged anything more than 'today was better than yesterday'.

He was under no illusions that, if Akihito were with him now, he would have tried to help solve the problem and either gotten kidnapped or injured, or even worse, dead. Asami had chuckled to himself: 'in Feilong we have to trust'; but when this was all over, Akihito was coming home, no. matter. what.

Kirishima had plated some food and placed it in front of Asami, bringing him back to reality. As he slowly started eating, he thought: 'The names that Feilong gave us will require looking into. We should be hiring more men for the search.' He commented on this to Kirishima, who nodded, as he had already taken care of it.

Asami drank his coffee, while listening to his gut tell him that the pair must have left Tokyo. But, his also had a feeling that the growing number of upstarts trying to infiltrate his business and undermining his stability was related to them, so possibly one or both had returned. Contemplating his next move, he knew someone was still trying to break him. 'Well, let them try' he inwardly chuckled. 'Soon, I will have the room I need to breath, and the tide will turn.' For right now, though, he wasn't getting enough rest, and really didn't have much of an appetite, so even trying to finish breakfast was a chore, each mouthful more difficult to swallow than the last.

Trying to even get to work was so tiring, having to avoid the paparazzi every damn day. He had mentally gained some relief, though, when Kirishima had told him that he'd already started taking down the reporter's names, "for future reference". His best friend really was indispensable.

Akihito was training with Feilong every day, and was a very quick study. He had been resting after a session when, from out of nowhere, he had remembered the Russian bodyguards' conversation, and the mention of the name Izaya; so he had just asked Feilong about it. Feilong had looked confused at Akihito, when it had dawned on him that this must have been how Mikhail had gotten the information on Sakazaki and Sudou.

Akihito wanted to ask more, but Feilong had just said "That has to do with Asami", and Akihito froze on the spot. God, he wished that Feilong hadn't mentioned him. Akihito didn't want to know anything about him, or even hear his name. He turned cold, and had started shaking. Feilong quickly held him, rubbing his back gently, calming Akihito down.

"We are done here for the day, now go find Tao, and eat." Akihito nodded. Feilong knew he wasn't ready to hear anything about Asami yet. Still too hurt and stubborn.

Maybe Asami knew who this Izaya was, and he might be able to help him. Once in his office he made a few calls to see if he could gather any information on the name, it but was difficult to find anything out about the man. He decided that he should just phone Asami.

After checking the caller ID, the first words out of Asami's mouth were "How is he?", concern colouring his voice. Looking at his breakfast, he pushed the plate away. Kirishima knew then that the call was from Feilong. Asami walked into living room with his coffee.

"Better today than yesterday" was all Feilong told him. It hurt, but he knew Akihito would bounce back like he always did, once he'd collected all the pieces and players in this mess, and presented his case.

Asami felt an odd pause from Feilong, he could sense some uncertainty."What aren't you telling me, Feilong..." fearing it had to do with Akihito.

Feilong sighed, then said: "I have found out who supplied Mikhail with the names and information." Asami relaxed a little, his eyes flickering between anger and hope. Feilong might have some good intel, and they'd hopefully be able to move this investigation forward with it.

"Feilong, my patience is..." before he could finish growling out his sentence, the Chinese crimelord continued.

"Someone named Izaya." Silence fell over the call as Feilong could feel Asami tense.

"Who is he?" Feilong asked. The only thing he'd found out about the name was that it had belonged to a retired man with ties to the Underground, who was based in Tokyo some years ago. He had moved away, but was still known to be an information broker. Cold as biting steel, Asami clipped his words, the news fraying away at whatever hold he had on his anger.

"It's not important who he is, but at least now I can prepare for him. " Asami did not sounding too convincing.

"Keep him safe, I mean SAFE, Feilong." Since he heard the name, Asami seemed more concerned, those last words showing he was deeply worried over Akihito's safety.

With that, the line disconnected. Feilong huffed at his phone. "Imperious bastard, a thank you might be nice."

Asami sat in his living room, glaring at nothing. 'Izaya, of all the god damned people'. Shit, he felt a migraine coming on. Kirishima, standing by and expecting orders, received nothing. Asami was dripping with an aura he'd never seen before: like he had seen a ghost, but mixed in with it was a hint of amusement. He stood and waited, wondering to himself what could have this effect on the boss.

Asami got out on the top floor of Sion. Opening his office door, he was greeted with a most unexpected surprise: a huge, very huge, Russian flag taped to the window behind his desk. As his eyes traveled downwards, he saw his office chair spinning in circles, and sitting in it was a young man wearing a Russian hat, and waving Russian flag sticks in each hand. Asami raisesd his eyebrows with the most unamused expression imaginable. "When, why and how the fuck did you get into my office."

The younger man stopped the chair and faced Asami. "Now, wouldn't you like to know~" the mystery person said in a playful conspiratorial tone while leaning forward on the desk, resting his head on his hand and lazily waving one of the flags with a close-eyed smile.

Asami walking over to his bar and poured a very much needed double whiskey. Could his life get even get more complicated…?

.

"Why am I not surprised, you must have heard me thinking about you only the other day" he said in a monotone. Asami's mind was whirring, trying to work out which question to ask first.

"Awwww, Asami… not even going to say hello to your sweet, loving baby brother?" Asami sighed, and turned to the other person with murderous intent.

"Don't give me that bullshit, Izaya. Now, tell me why you thought it was a brilliant idea to redecorate my office. Also..." as Asami walked over to Izaya, who looked up at Asami with curiosity as to why he hadn't finished his sentence. Asami yanked him harshly off of his chair and took his place.

"Don't come to my place of business unannounced. I have important matters to take care of." Asami said, lighting another cigarette. "Most days I don't have time to babysit." Izaya was now sitting cross-legged on the floor, pouting.

"How mean. Here I am, trying to help you keep 'OUR' precious little kitten alive, being the kind-hearted person I am."

As soon as Izaya finished talking, Asami glowered at him and snarled "'Ours'? He belongs to me and me alone, so you keep your slimy self away from him, understand." Izaya just giggled, like being threatened by Asami Ryuichi was a normal, everyday occurrence.

"Oh, Ryuichi, you are so amusing to tease. I just thought that you'd like to know where two troublemakers are hiding, but if you're not interested, then I'll just go." Izaya stood up from his position on the floor and sauntered towards the door, his arms crossed behind his head in a nonchalant manner. "And to think, I came ALL the way out here to see you, too… how boring." Asami rose, and within nine angry strides he grabbed Izaya's arm with enough strength to leave a bruise, and spun him around to slam his back against the door.

"Izaya. You aren't leaving this room without telling me everything you know about those two."

Izaya huffed. "So impatient! You should know I won't give this up information for free." Asami's annoyance was rising due to the smug look Izaya was wearing. Asami let go of his arm and proceeded to walk back over to his bar and poured more alcohol into his glass. Izaya caught himself before he landed on the floor, and walked to the front of the desk.

"What is it that you want..." Izaya's expression turned serious, the most serious Asami had ever seen his face. Considering his brother almost always had a smile or a smirk on his face, this turn of events piqued his interest. As Asami sat back down, Izaya marched towards him, and leaned forward so that their noses were almost touching and said in a most deadly quiet voice:

"You know exactly what I want. You have taken someone important from me, now I want him back." Asami frowned, perplexed, and somewhat unsettled, due to the seriousness of his usually playful younger brother.

"I don't remember having something important of yours."

Izaya growled and pushed himself up off the desk and shouted "Don't lie to me, you know exactly who I'm on about. You took him from me, my only friend, you heartless bastard. Now, give him back" he moaned, distress emanating through his voice and posture.

Asami raised an eyebrow and thought to himself 'Izaya had never bothered with friends, who the hell is he talking about?" He then remembered to whom Izaya was referring to, and an unimpressed look took over his face. "You have got to kidding me, Izaya... This. Is stupid. You do know a deal is supposed to be equitable to both sides…?" Izaya once again slammed his hand down on the desktop.

"This is a fair deal. Shut up!" With that, Izaya stormed out of the office, slamming the door hard enough that it sounded like it cracked, deep inside the wood, leaving Asami in utter disbelief.

He had nearly forgot, for all of his brother's intelligence, how Izaya could be. Asami pondered how he could be so childish sometimes. 'I'll call him, or find him later to finish this deal once he's calmer' he thought. But then he thought better of it, remembering how Izaya was also very good at hide and seek. And he was already inside Sion. Sighing, he went to the door and opened it, calling him back into the office, before he could reach the elevator. Kirishima sat at his desk, blinking. Who was this, and more importantly, how did the young man get into Sion undetected? Asami, though tense, seemed somewhat relaxed, so he obviously knew this person.

Izaya had a skip in his step as he returned to the office, giving a cheeky wink and a grin to Kirishima as he passed by his desk, probably indicating that Sion's number two man wouldn't be able to find out how he got in.

Sitting down in one of Asami's visitor chairs, Izaya's mood was playful again, feigning innocence and attempting to convince Asami of his "pure" intentions. "Ryuichi, I am shocked that you would think for one instant" he pouted "that I would harm one hair on 'our' oh sooo cute little Aki. I would never, ever think of... say, oh, I don't know, keeping him for myself, and maybe persuading him to never ever see you again."

Asami growled, his patience snapped right there. In one blurred motion, he did a flying tackle over the desk, knocking both his annoying shit of a brother and his chair over backwards. Asami was on top, Izaya was pinned beneath him on the floor. Grabbing his throat only made Izaya laugh boisterously.

"Aw, I knew you'd like it rough. If you wanted to have a little sexy time, Ryuichi, you only had to ask… Of course, I'd insist you shower first as I don't relish the thought of smelling him on you while we do it; but then again, the sweet scent of 'our' Boo might add some spice to the experience."

"Again Izaya, I am warning you, he is 'MINE', period. Plus," he continued, with a disgusted look on his face "I'm not trying to have sex with you, you aren't even close to being amusing. I'm am thinking about breaking that scrawny neck of yours. You really need to understand how very serious I am. You are treading on very, very thin ice."

He pulled himself off, straightening the chair as he stood up. Izaya reached out his hand, expecting Asami to help him up. His older sibling just scoffed at him, turned around and walked back to the bar again to fix himself another drink; smoothing down his shirt and jacket as he lit his cigarette and felt the nicotine hit.

Asami counted to ten in multiple languages. Izaya was the only one who could ruffle his feathers… well, except for his Akihito. This time, Asami walked back to his desk with the bottle, and crossed his legs as he sat back down, drink in his other hand, and chuckled.

Izaya was still lying down, scowling at him. He was starting to lose his patience with Asami."Do you want my help, or not?"

"The only way you could help me, Izaya" he said, trying not to sound too venomous "is to get the hell out of my life and never, ever show me your face again." Asami paused on that thought. "Or, I could just shoot you, ending both of our misery"he finished, a scornful look gracing his face.

Izaya sat down opposite Asami."Listen, if you don't want to hear how I can solve your little crisis, without putting yourself at risk, and allowing you to keep 'our' little toy among the living", from this, Asami surmised that either Izaya thought Akihito was in the wind, unprotected, and was using this to try and bait bait him; or else, he knew that he actually was in danger.

"Well, I guess I can just leave you alone to figure something out, and all the while you'll have to exhibit a level of self-control", Izaya got up "that I personally think is even beyond your capabilities, Ryuichi." Izaya grumbled, and headed back towards the door.

"Anyway, I have places to visit and people to torment... I mean 'have friendly conversations with'. Bye bye~." Asami breathed out a defeated sigh, making Izaya stop in his tracks.

"Wait. If you are serious about helping me, then I want you to stay. But, if this is another one of your unending games, or you're trying to weasel your way back into my good graces, it's not going to work. So, which is it? Because to be honest, I really don't feel like playing with you today."

Smirking in victory for a moment, Izaya turned to his elder brother with an innocent smile.

"Well, to be totally honest... it's a little bit of both. Quid pro quo, as you will. I help you if you promise to help me with one teensy, tiny thing."

Asami rolled his eyes. "It's always an angle with you. Well, spit it out, what do you really want from me now? And why are you now coming to me after all the these years; you are more than capable of manipulating any situation… You left years ago. You stormed out and swore never to return, which I am totally grateful for. You no longer have any control over of me."

"Oh, I don't need to control you, Ryuichi. That's a completely separate issue, in and of itself. All I have to say is one word, really… You should be grateful that it's only me who can control you." Izaya replied mockingly. "It really is that simple."

"Well, then I guess I have to work on breaking the part of me that still actually cares for you, and kill you." He said emotionlessly, all the while thinking'two can play this game".

"Now, where's the fun in that, dear brother? You know the type of person I am, and you know you can't really stop me from whatever it is I truly want; and I don't see anyone who really can. How amusing."

"See, that's always been your problem, Izaya. You always seem to underestimate me, especially when I want something done. Do not doubt my resourcefulness, Izaya: one day you may regret it."

"It's not that I doubt you in any way; in fact, it was your ability to make things happen at the drop of a hat was one of the reasons I chose to be like you in the first place... just better." Izaya shrugged, then started to hum a Russian song

"You mean it wasn't so you could kill our parents, and play with my emotions, then intentionally turn us into enemies these past years?" Asami realised that he had crossed a line which could cause him serious problems. Izaya glared at him, ready to leave once again.

"Alright, I shouldn't have said that. It was..."Asami winced"cruel of me to say that. Please accept my sincerest apologies."

Looking not at all convinced of his sincerity, Izaya states acerbically:"You're forgiven... this time. Now, shall we get down to the business at hand, and let me tell you just what I have in mind for keeping your little playmate among the living?"

"Alright, you're dying to tell me anyway." Asami said, resigning himself to the thought of listening to him, all the way, to the end.

When Izaya finally left, Asami was not happy. He knew 'way too much information, which irked Asami; but now, with Izaya's involvement… Asami shuddered. Izaya may be very talented and useful, but he can turn on a dime at any moment and stab one in the back, mostly because he was bored.

Asami looked around his office. Izaya always left clues, he could never just give a straight answer… then he realised something extremely important. Asami picked up his phone and pressed an auto dial number.

"Mikhail. I would like a few words with you, about a couple of your recent guests. I believe you tried to use them to maybe attack me…?"

Mikhail started to laugh. "Oh, Asami, not to attack you, but maybe to reserve them for future negotiations; but, it turns out that they were not worth my time." Taking a breath, he wondered 'how did Asami find out?' This was a surprise!

"You understand, Asami, business is business." Asami hummed agreement.

"So, where are they now, Mikhail?" he asked, animosity dripping with every word spoken.

"I dropped them back in Tokyo months ago." Mikhail said, his tone genuine. "I have no idea where they could be..."

"I believe you." Asami's playful tone returned. "Mikhail, I would be grateful if you could arrange a meeting with Sakazaki some time this month", the subtle threat left hanging in the air.

"I may owe you one, Mikhail, instead of just doing something you'll regret later on." The Russian laughed.

"Asami, you dog. I will be in contact soon."

"Some advice Mikhail, before you go: watch your back when involved with a man called Izaya. He wouldn't think twice" Asami hesitated, then said "postaviv, nozh v spinu (putting a knife in your back), if he got bored." With that, Asami ended the call. Izaya had been to the Russian or he knew of Mikhail's involvement. Izaya knew the whereabouts of the bastards who tried to destroy me. Asami was somewhat pleased. 'Sudou and Sakazaki would be his sooner than he thought; but there, lurking in the back of his mind, was the thought that Izaya may become a bigger threat than anyone could understand.

Mikhail put his phone down, his jolly persona dispersing, and frowned. He remembered bringing Suduo and Sakazaki back from Tokyo. They were too busy with there own agenda. Mikhail, didn't relish the thought of seeing them again, they were a waste his efforts. If they were behind Asami's current problem. then he's out looking for blood.

Asami's warning about Izaya… yes, he had had a feeling about that young man. He remembered his guts nagging him during his phone call before he'd landed in Hong Kong. While he spoke to Izaya over the phone, Mikhail had kept stealing puzzled glances at the passengers he had brought from Russian with him, but in the end, he had shrugged it off. 'What's the worst that can happen?' Izaya had been ecstatic; and he had the ability to gather any information, apparently at will.

Mikhail worked out quickly this Izaya could not only sort out and make use of information, but he had the added ability to make the right people do as he wanted. Mikhail certainly had been impressed with Izaya's ability to speak fluent Russian and English. "Don't sound so worried medvezhonok (baby bear)... trust me, my information is never wrong~" was the last thing he had said to him as the plane landed in Tokyo.

Asami was a cunning fox, but his piece of friendly advice for Mikhail to stay away from Izaya, because 'he wouldn't think twice postaviv, nozh v spinu (putting a knife in your back). The way Asami had said it, he was being clear and honest. Between that, and their shared history, if it came down to it, Mikhail knew he'd side with Asami.

Mikhail sighed. He thought that he'd never have to see or hear those two again. Now, he'd have to go look for them. Blyad' (Fuck). 'If Asami knows I brought Suduo and Sakazaki back to Tokyo, then he'd found out that I had rescued Suduo along with that dlya urodlivoy shlyukhoy (ugly whore) Sakazaki.

Blyad' (Fuck), which means that he knows that I managed to fake Sakazaki's death. I'd better get a move on. If I can bring Sakazaki to him fast, then Asami might just forgive and forget [snort] Yeah, right.' Amused by that thought, he still held onto the chance of getting that favor out of Asami. "Petrov, get my man in Tokyo to find that guy called Sakazaki; and make it happen, right now."

T.


	10. 10 talented Izaya

**Chapter 9: Introducing the talented... Mr Izaya.**

The Asami Family was generally known to be intelligent, manipulative and have a rather sadistic way of toying with people. His brother, while lacking in years, was on par with Asami in most ways; but while Asami kept a tight leash on his inner demons, Izaya preferred to let his out on a permanent recess.

Izaya always had a knack for finding information on just about anyone he'd set his sights on. Usually, people would fall for his 'innocent youth' act, and let information slip. Izaya disliked getting his own hands dirty, preferring to think of himself as more of a puppet master. He'd either convince the other party to end their own existence (just for a kick), get a 'mark' who owed him to do it, or, on very rare occasions, he would decide that he needed to practice his skills, and dispatch the prey using his favorite blade.

The younger brother could flat out not be trusted. However, he knew deep, deep down that Asami wouldn't hesitant to put a bullet in his brain if he ever betrayed him. The problem was, Izaya would always let a couple of his toes inch oh so very bloody close to crossing that line.

Asami cared, somewhat, for him (his little brother was, after all, his only remaining family). Yes, admittedly, he was sociopath, and yes, a psychopath too; all that and more, wrapped up in a handsome, charismatic package of smartass.

Asami knew in his gut he should push Izaya away, but he needed information, and the past ten months of the "stalkerazzi" had been a very trying period. He couldn't, at present, employ his usual methods to gather his own intel.

Asami never wanted to have a family reunion, EVER. Especially anywhere in Akihito's general vicinity; it would be a nightmare, only much worse. The crimelord offered up his most fervent prayer to any god that happened to be listening: that never, ever, ever should they meet; all the while hoping that the god in question wouldn't turn round and tell him to fuck off.

 **Izaya's playdate =^x^=**

Asami had agreed to the terms of his deal. Izaya managed to find out where the two mischief makers had been hiding, luckily it was within Sion territory. This made him happy as it meant he didn't have to waste any effort searching for his new victims, and so, he set off to have some fun. Tonight he didn't want to play with his usual playmate; well, maybe he was a little tempted, but he did make a pinky swear to help his big brother, so that had priority.

There was a rumor, that Izaya may or may no have heard, that a secret meeting was going to be held tonight at a bar that should have been condemned years ago, so Izaya decided to drop by. Not too long afterwards, Izaya sat at the bar, wearing a feather boa draped around his neck from a wedding party he had just crashed on the way over.

Shortly, Izaya noticed Sudou and another guy that was most likely his accomplice, walk into the bar together. Thinking he's just a drunk, they ignored Izaya, ordered a couple of drinks and sat a few seats down from him. He sighed, and decided to start his plan, drawing attention to himself by harshly banging his head on the bar table.

He then started grumbling in Russian "chto glupo Asami ublyudok, otkloniv moye delo, kak ya khochu, chtoby ya mog privesti yego vniz I nablyudat za nim medlenno prikhod ('That stupid Asami bastard, turning down my deal; how I wish I could bring him down and watch him slowly perish')". Most of the other patrons ignored him as they didn't understand a word the man said, and thought he was speaking gibberish. However, this got the attention of the two fugitives: maybe he was associated with Mikhail? so they cautiously decided to invite him to sit with them, just to listen to this mystery man's rambling about a deal that had been perfect, and his muttering about avidly awaiting Asami's downfall.

Suduo had enough of the the young man bad mouthing the one he loved, and started defending his Asami, which in turn set the other guy off, causing his confederate to argue back his loathing of Asami. As they carried on fighting about how great or horrible Asami was, Izaya had been buying them all round after round of drinks, so by end of the night, lips were loosened, and brains befuddled.

Izaya decided it was the perfect time to bring the newspaper article up, before he got really bored and slit their throats. They were both SO annoying. Asking the "We Love Asami" club president if he thought what had been printed in the papers could be false, like the President and CEO of Sion had claimed. "Being completely honest, if it was a fake, I would have to say that the mastermind behind it had been very clever. I wonder how it was done" Izaya said, lying through his teeth. Personally, he couldn't care less, as he thought a toddler, that had fallen out of the Stupid Tree and then hit every branch on the way down could have done better job.

Neither of the men commented, but Izaya could see they wanted to gloat about that wonderful plan of theirs. As the night wore on, the sake kept flowing. Izaya noticed how nauseatingly infatuated with Asami Sudou was, and a devious thought popped into his oh, so brilliant brain. A devilish smiled crawled up from his boa onto his face, but his two companions were too busy keeping up their useless bickering to notice Izaya's expression. He started to polish up a plan to get Asami and Sudou together, while still having fun at the same time

First, Izaya manages to hack into Suduo's phone. 'How easy… he should really be more careful, or who knows what could happen…' Silently chuckling to himself, he texted Suduo's phone, pretending to be THE One, and Only, Asami Ryuichi. Suduo got the 'new message' notification. Once he recognized the number that it was sent from, his breath hitched, and his heart started beating faster. He debated whether he should open it or not for a whole two seconds, but in the end his desire and curiosity won him over, and he checked the message. To his surprise it read:

FROM: Ryuichi

TO: Shuu:

'Shuu 3 I now know that you didn't betray me and were in fact just trying to help so I wanted to say thank you'

Izaya glanced up from his phone to see Sudou's reaction. Sudou didn't disappoint, and he became somewhat amused. He decided next to text his dear brother.

From: Izaya

To : Asami

'Oh how fun it is pretending to be you! You are in for quite a surprise!~ (^~^)/ '

Once he finished texting, he received a message from the clueless naive man sitting next to him.

FROM: Shuu

TO: Asami

'What about your fuck toy, that stupid photographer you are always playing with?'

Quietly chuckling to himself, and knowing full well that this indeed would cure his boredom for a little while, he responded:

FROM:Asami

TO:Shuu

'Don't worry your pretty little head Shuu, I grew tired of him and realised that you are far superior to him in ever way ;) In the end I knew that I wanted you, and that I always did, I was just too blind to see it sooner'

Suduo can't help but beam a grand smile, but he wanted to make sure his Ryuichi was telling the truth, so he summoned up the courage to ask:

FROM:Shuu

TO: Asami

'I'm glad you finally realised what you've been missing. You took your precious time but I'll forgive you. How exactly did you get rid of your little slut?'

Izaya tried his best to keep the sadistic smirk from showing as he didn't want them to get suspicious, which would just ruin his fun, and texted back:

FROM:Asami

TO:Shuu

'Well, I decided to fuck him, one last time as a parting gift, and just after we finished I shot him in the head, to end our interaction with a bang ya know'

Once Sudou ready he message, his smile started to stretch and he began to giggle. Which creeped out his buddy. "Oi, are you alright, Sudou? Who are you texting? And stop acting like that, it's weirding me out!"

Sudou's once happy face turns to disbelieving frown as he hit Sakazaki on his arm. "How rude! I'll have you know that our plan will continue to go forward perfectly, and I'm finally getting what I desire the most. Everything is right in the world!" Izaya decided to take his entertainment up a notch, and to text the poor lovestruck fool one last time to set his plan into motion.

FROM:Asami

TO:Shuu

'I really need you. Come to my office at whenever most convenient, make sure you wear a sexy maid outfit, that's a real turn on for me. I'll be waiting for you, my little pet, to have some fun'

Izaya immediately became bored. Just as he was about to get up and leave his phone rang. Without looking at the caller ID he said: "Hello~ is there something that you needed?" The caller just answered by hissing out his name in a very livid tone. Knowing exactly who was calling made a smile return to his face, one of pure amusement, with just a smidgen of madness.

"Ah, I see you got my text~". Asami growled, knowing full well that the annoying little shit was smirking at the other end of the phone call.

"Get your ass into my office right now. You'd better explain yourself, and if I am not pleased with your explanation, I will cause you great harm."

Izaya's expression turned into one of mock horror. "Ohhhh~ I'm so scared~" Asami hung up straight away, not wanting to deal with his younger sibling anymore. With that said, Izaya bid farewell to the other two gentleman, saying that his lover wanted a little fun time.

Izaya had texted Shuu periodically throughout the night. It had gotten boring, but he had to keep up the pretense ' til morning. By 4 a.m., he was tempted to make Suduo kill himself, just on principle.

He texted his brother a message: "Ryuichi, will be in your office around 7 a.m., just to let you know. I would have come by last night, but I was somewhat busy"

His timing had to be perfect for presenting his gift to his brother. Izaya headed towards the Sion office building, but first, he took a detour and bought some sweets to enjoy the during the show that would begin in a few hours time.

Happily, he skipped into the building just before 5 a.m., took the elevator to the top floor, and sauntered right past Kirishima's unmanned desk. And kicked open the office door in coltish high spirits, making himself at home on one of the couches in Asami's office. When Ryuichi came in, he dumped some of the sweets onto his desk, before offering Asami a sweet smiling face which promised nothing but trouble.

Asami took a deep breath to help prepare himself for hearing what Izaya had done to keep entertained. "Now, would you kindly explain what you meant by your text?"

Izaya's innocent look never faltered, however, Asami noticed sudden amusement floating in his blood red eyes. "Let's first have us a little deal." Asami's eye felt like it desperately wanted to twitch.

"And that would be..." Izaya silently chuckled at Asami's expression.

"No need to look worried, let's just say that if I could get one of the men you've been so desperately hunting for into your office within the next twenty-four hours" Asami let out a defeated sigh, knowing he would not like the next words Izaya was going to say " then I get to spend a weekend with our precious little kitten, completely and utterly alone."

To say Asami wanted to brutally rip his younger brother's head off was an understatement. "How about you take that idea and ram it up your ass. Like hell I'm going to let you anywhere near MY lover, much less spend so long alone with him."

"Make it all of one day, and that night, then." Izaya pouted and crossed his arms like a stubborn child. Asami stood up, pulled his Beretta from his shoulder holster, and pointed it at Izaya's forehead. "I'll take that as a 'no', then." Feeling a little hurt, his lips curled down. "How about, Ryuichi, we all go on a date together, doing everything I want to do for an afternoon, with no sour face or eating of small children?"

After going back and forth on how long Izaya could keep Akihito, they finally agreed on half of a day. Izaya grinned in victory while Asami just looked like he had made a terrible mistake. "So~ when do you want me to deliver Shuu? I can get him on his way over here in less than an hour, does that sound good to you~ " Asami eyed Izaya suspiciously, knowing full well he was up to something, yet a smirk started to make an appearance on Asami's face.

"That sounds perfect." Asami knew that Sudou had returned to Tokyo, but wonders if Izaya was under the impression that he is still supposed to be in Russia. How can he get him travelling to the office in less than an hour? Asami does not want to think about it as he will start to go mad if he tries to work out his brother's warped maze of a mind. Izaya sat back casually on the coach and started to type on his phone with a blank expression.

After a few minutes, he put his phone in his pocket and lay down with his hands behind his head. Every now and again he would reach over to grab one of his snacks that he brought for the "show". Asami crooked an eyebrow at Izaya's actions and decided not to question him, wondering why he hadn't started to move yet. "Asami, relax, have some sweets~" Asami closed his eyes and sighed.

"You know I don't like sweets." Izaya blinked innocently.

"Oh. Really? More for me then~" after a few more minutes of doing nothing, Izaya sat up and pulled out his phone, evilly chuckling to himself and began a slow count down. Just as he finished, Sudou burst through the door wearing a French maid outfit that's a bit too short, with a big bow tied to a collar around his squeezable neck, and a breathless grin.

Izaya quickly snapped a few photos on his personal cellphone from different angles to use as... material... for later, then walked towards the door. Just before he left he turned and looked at Asami over his shoulder with a devious grin.

"Don't forget our little deal. Now, have fun… but do try and not get too carried away, dear brother…". With that being said, he chucked over the phone he'd used to convince Sudou to come to Sion for his sibling. Izaya would have loved to watch Asami's face as he went through all the sexting that had taken place, but he was getting bored. After he closed the office door and was waiting for the elevator, he allowed a self-satisfied chuckle.

Once Izaya left, Asami began to grin wickedly, thinking of the many ways to breaks and torture Sudou. He walked past his delusional ex-employee, locked the door, and purred "Let's have some fun, shall we... Shuu."

IZAYA HAS LEFT THE BUILDING- microphone dropped

 **Rats in the kitchen...**

As much as Asami hated to admit it, the stunt his younger sibling pulled was very impressive. He never stopped surprising him; however, he did worry about how long Izaya planned to stay, because as long as he found it entertaining at Sion, the longer Asami had to wait to see Akihito. Izaya liked to dance on the knife edge between sanity and insanity, which made him a very dangerous person to deal with. Asami called out "Kirishima, come in here."

Kirishima walked into the office and waited for his orders. "I need you to investigate someone named Izaya Orihara; no one else needs to know. Also, we must make sure that he doesn't find out. He's probably hacked into the phones and the cameras here already. He is a very intelligent man, so there must be someone or something very entertaining for him to make him stay in this territory for this long; so get as much information you can. I would like this man gone as soon as possible. But be careful, his deductive and intuitive skills are better than mine, the little shit. That is all."

Kirishima bowed and left to start his task. Once he was out of sight, Asami's phone rang to reveal his main problem was calling. "Izaya, what can I do for you. I have financial reports to go over."

Izaya just moaned over the phone "How boring. I see you've been talking to a Russian baby bear about catching Sakazaki. Would you like some help?" Asami just rolled his eyes.

"Izaya, I thank you for my exquisite present of Suduo. Expertly done, I have to say; you are getting more creative lately. I thought you left once it got boring."

This time it was Izaya's turn to roll his eyes. "Yeah yeah, I'm good, I know, and I did get bored, but since I've been staying close by in Shinjuku, I thought I'd help you again; it was fun~". Asami rubbed his temples to help stop a oncoming headache but froze once he fully analyzed what was just said.

"What do you mean 'close by'? Izaya, you had better not be staying where I think you are." Izaya had been hiding in the penthouse, without Asami's knowledge. He's been touching almost everything he could find, moving items to different locations, or changing their orientation by a few centimetres in one direction or the other Sometimes he would sleep on Akihito's bed and wear his clothes. He couldn't help himself, he found his brothers playmate's scent rather arousing; and last but not least he's been looking through Akihito's computer, messing with some of the images and documents within.

Asami knew that leaving Izaya alone wasn't good for his mental health, so he quickly hung up on his brother and headed out. "Kirishima, keep doing what I asked you to do, I'm just going to get a certain rat that has decided to make itself at home in the penthouse. I cannot overstate the importance of this assignment; it's your number one priority."

Asami got out of the limo as fast as he could, headed up to the penthouse and slammed the door open, only to find the "rat" in question casually sitting on the couch, with his crossed ankles on the coffee table, watching TV and holding a drink he most likely found in the fridge. "Please close the door behind you, it's rather chilly~". Asami dismissed the comment with an eye-roll.

"What do you think you are doing? I was hoping you - wait ... why are you wearing MY Akihito's clothes…"

Izaya just looked at him with a blank stare, picked up the front of the shirt he was wearing and took a sniff, all the while maintaining eye contact with Asami, and said "He has a very alluring aroma, it kinda turns me on~". Asami just glared daggers at the other male.

Izaya raises his hands in mock surrender and puts on a fake innocent persona. "Whoops~ his clothes are the only ones that fit? I could take them off, or… you could take them off, if you know what I mean~" Izaya ended with a flirtatious look and a wink.

Asami shuddered. "Look, what do you want?"

"I thought a genius like yourself would figure it out?"

Asami grimaced. "Even a genius can have a riddle he can't solve. Now, will you tell me?"

Izaya just looked at him like he was an idiot. "Isn't it obvious? I did my part, now it's time for you to do yours. If you don't, I will make your life a living hell and you'll never get rid of me, 'kay~?"

Asami, knowing that everything he was saying was true, raised his hand up as a silent command for Izaya to stay put, which was obeyed. He walked over to the little wall safe hidden behind a bookshelf. After turning the dial to the correct combination, he reached in and pulled out a black teddy bear that looked rather old and busted.

Once Izaya saw the item in Asami's hand, he leapt over the coffee table and snatched the bear out of his hands, and proceeding to swing the bear in circles. "my dearest old friend...ive missed you, so much" giving it a huge cuddle.

Asami raised an eyebrow at this action. Izaya suddenly stopped and pulled out his favorite knife and violently ripped open the back of the bear. Asami watched in disbelief at what was happening in front of him. Izaya reached inside the bear, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his month in concentration. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled out a black notebook and an insanely delighted look took over his facial features as he began to laugh like the true madman he was.

"Finally~". With that, Izaya started to leave, but just as he exited the penthouse, his brother heard his cold, detached voice fading down the hallway: "You can run from your past all you want, but it will always follow after you. Forever and ever and ever and ever..." Asami felt a chill run down his spine, akin to someone walking over your grave, Asami closed his eyes, trying to shake the feeling away knowing full well when it came to Izaya he'd be dancing on your grave.

Asami sat at his desk mulling over reports on new investors, which was lucky, as Asami was distracted from the somewhat important work. It had been a few months since Izaya left. Asami almost missed the little imp, but as always, he was very happy that he had departed. However, if Izaya came back, he could reappear at anytime, and hopefully the distractions he created would keep him preoccupied elsewhere for a while.

The only items of import at the moment to Asami were Mikhail, and getting Sakazaki. Mikhail had a plan, and he'd been advised that all he would need to do is show up. He'd kept in touch, asking a certain young gentleman to phone Sakazaki to make sure he was still in Tokyo. It was a set up, and a car would be waiting for him when they were ready. "It's so scary how easily people trust me" was the only comment he got. Asami quietly snorted, then carried on with his reports, waiting for Mikhail.

 **Last man standing..**.

Sakazaki, meanwhile, was on the run again. It been a few weeks since a 'friend' had called to warn him about a trap Mikhail was setting. Sudou, the love sick fool, had walked straight into Sion. Fucking idiot had screwed up everything they had worked for. He was confused as to how Asami had gotten him to walk right into Sion, all dolled up. He'd probably never know; all he did know was that Sudou deserved whatever slow, torturous death Asami had come up with.

Sakazaki wasn't going to stay put. Asami was on the war path, and he knew Sudou would have confessed everything. Sakazaki had had no other choice, so he had brought his final plan forward. Seven gang leaders had arrived at the abandoned airfield, ready to take Asami down. They had been confident, due to the intel provided by Mikhail. But thirty minutes into the meeting to organize an underworld uprising against the crimelord, they had been silently surrounded by the Russians in the hanger.

Asami had walked in then, like royalty, straight into the mass of men, shock and ire at the audacity of the man. "So, there are more players in this little game," Asami said loudly and confidently, "and I almost feel touched, having my own little production. You think together you can take me?" Asami scoffed. "I do not think so. Listening to that ass Sakazaki was your downfall. Hand him over and I may overlook this insurrection" Asami stood at ease, regarding everyone with disdain.

One of the leaders, an older man around the same height as Asami, tried to summon up an aura of menace around him. Asami smiled indulgently, knowing full well he was in control, but deciding to let this little show of rebellion play out. The older man, one of his now ex-associates, walked forward, confidently. "I think you have it backwards, Asami. Your empire is ruined, and tonight will be your end" he stated, trying to intimidate Asami.

Asami blinked, then started laughing, having witnessed this so many times. When the assurance of apparent victory was there, the words of the supposed victors became boastful, freely giving up information. That man, for instance didn't even have a clue as to what was going on. Asami couldn't help but crack a sly smile. This was far too easy, and far less messy than torture. But really, did they think he would be caught unaware?

Asami scoffed. "I think you'll find that tonight is all about your end, not mine. This is such a shame, you had tried so hard. I thought we worked well together," he spoke, showing no emotion.

The man smirked, showing crooked canines, not believing a word Asami was saying! Asami stood tall as he gazed around the room. "See, that's the joke. You trusted an idiot who had delusions of grandeur. I've never seen anything so incompetent in the recent history of the yakuza, and neither has anyone else of significance. Sakazaki, he lied to you all."

The older man's grey eyes gleamed as he came closer to him. Asami actually had to will himself not to turn his head away as he felt his heavy breaths ghost over his face, the odour resembling spoiled kimchi.

"You are mistaken, Asami. There is nowhere for you to go and hide. Lucky for you, there are those here who will still play with you while you breathe. They think that the more gory the death, the greater the reward, knowing they killed the great Asami Ryuichi."

Asami blankly looked at everyone, he could see they were wanting blood. His blood.

"I'm bored with this farce now. And I will show no mercy for these traitorous actions." Pulling his gun out, he shot the older man point blank; he then turned his attention to the others' shocked looks as the first body hit the ground. One by one, the other leaders fell like flies.

"Five down, two more and Sakazaki to go." He growled, his voice going lower. "Give me Sakazaki, and I will allow you to try and get out of Japan alive." The surviving men looked stunned. As they realised what had happened, Asami's men had come in and forcefully rounded up the remaining dissenters.

Mikhail spoke up as he walked into the covered space. "He's gone. As soon as you walked into the hanger, Sakazaki scuttled off as quickly as he could and ran. I must say, you can really put on a show, can't you." Mikhail chuckled, shaking his head. "We good, Asami...?"

Asami's murderous gaze turned on Mikhail. "You, are responsible for this mess. I will go get Sakazaki, you clean this mess up. If any repercussion fall to me because of this, I will not hesitate in putting a bullet through your head. Or, maybe I'd see if Feilong would want to do it, instead..."

Mikhail's face fell. "Yes, yes. I will sort this out, okay?" Waving him off, he shrugged, and added: "Go, find him."

Asami smiled at him, and said "'blagodaryu'," (which is a slightly more aristocratic way to say 'thank you' in Russian.) "Mikhail. We are even now, but if you ever think of trying to double-cross me in the future..." with a piercing look, he turned and left.

Mikhail shook his head. He had over thirty men and their two leaders to sort out, and then he'd have to dispose of the dead. Mikhail started laughing. Asami did have some flare. "Petrov, start cleaning; we've got things needing to be done."

Kirishima, who had stayed back, watched as Sakazaki abandon his friends. The one who had given him the tip was a most helpful young man, so Kirishima knew which car to tag for easier tracking. Asami decided he was going to take a leaf out of Izaya's book, and play with his prey for a while.

Roughly two weeks later, Sakazaki's life was filled with restlessness, and fear. Paranoia had seeped into his mind, and Sakazaki's world had become very, very small indeed. He had a repeating sense that somebody was watching his every move. Sakazaki, before he did anything, would always check, then double check his surroundings; if he left his room, he'd look in all directions. Twice. Everything Sakazaki did felt uncomfortable, like there was no place even for solitude. Sakazaki knew someone was fixated on toying with him.

As soon as he walked into his room after getting a few bare essentials, Sakazaki could have sworn someone had been in there. His stomach was rolling, he felt he should run but he ignored that little voice, taking off his shoes. He reluctantly walked over to the windows in his so-called living room, and looked out, checking to see if he could see someone watching. Agitated, he closed the curtains.

Sakazaki walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind himself. As quickly as he could, he jumped into the shower. The water instantly sprayed down his chest, then his back. Sakazaki's muscles relaxed under the heat of the shower. His mind wandered, thinking about his life, and what had brought him to this pitiful existence. He'd had a club he'd owned, money, and some power, then that fuckin' blond had come and took it all away. Now, he was left with nothing, just existing, living in one shitty hovel after another. An uneasy feeling came over him as he was exiting the shower. Who was this person, and why were they just watching? If it was Asami, he was pretty sure he would have been strung up by now in one of his warehouses.

Walking back into the living room, he froze: the curtains were open. He was sure he'd closed them before going into the bathroom. As he closed them again, a shiver ran down his spine. Had someone been in here, or was it just his imagination.

Sakazaki couldn't even find peace in his sleep, tossing and turning all night. Every little noise kept him awake, thinking today was the day "they" were gonna find him. Tomorrow, he'd

have to move on; he never stayed in one place for too long.

A chill shivered down Sakazaki's spine; it was the worst feeling to hit him since that incident at his club four years ago, when news of a transgression between Akihito and himself had surfaced. He'd been lucky to get advance warning that a murderous Asami would be arriving within thirty minutes or so. He didn't understand why Asami was angry with him. Shouldn't Asami have taken it out on that blond slut of his? He was just a whore, after all; but then, Asami was Asami, and he didn't like to share his toys. He actually thought Asami wouldn't find out, but that blond must of... 'opened' his mouth. He grimaced at the double entendre. At that precise moment, something sharp and cold pressed against his neck. His mind frantically stuttered, realizing it was a knife.

"Hello, my little bitch, did you miss me?" The voice purred, freezing Sakazaki into place. "How's my precious traitor doing today?" The voice, far too amused for its own good, asked before everything went dark.

Having Izaya back, for even a brief period, had add fuel back to his fire. He'd really enjoyed toying with Sakazaki for the past few weeks. Asami had forgotten how easy, and enjoyable was to chase down prey. So, maybe a little fun beforehand...; well, that was still to be decided.

Asami was back in his office. The two culprits were finally caught, the evidence of the hoax was prepared, the editor of the Tokyo Times was ready to put an apology spread in the newspaper. Shares in Sion had more than recovered, and investors were either staying, or trying hard to buy their way into his businesses... and the few traitors that had appeared were gone.

All that was left was one sorely missed photographer…

"Feilong, I am coming to get him." Asami announced, fierce with determination.

"Asami...I am sorry, he is not ready to see you. Not yet." Feilong rubbed his eyes, honestly concerned for both parties.

"It has been too long already. I need, I want him back with me. He belongs here." Agitation tightened Asami's jaw.

"If you come now, you will lose him forever. Patience, he will return." Feilong was pleading for him not to make a mistake now. Akihito was so close to going back on his own.

"Feilong... a warning. If I must, I will come for him, and nothing will stop me; but for now, I will wait. Not for much too longer, though." Feilong sighed in relief.

Feilong put the phone down, just as Akihito walked into the room. "Fei, I've been thinking about this, and I want to go back to Tokyo. I need my life back, and I have been able to secure a teaching position at Tokyo university."

Feilong smiled a knowing smile, and desperately tried not to start giggling. "Akihito", he said "that would be a great idea"; and gave him a hug.

Asami was in no mood to talk to anyone, shoot maybe but not talking, his phone call to Feilong was infuriating, he could tell he was speaking the truth, no hidden agenda from him. Feilong was only looking out for Akihito, but Asami patience was growing weary. each day away from Akihito the further away he felt. slamming his hands on the desk. Asami paused, I will give only a few more months no weeks, I will drag him, back kicking and screaming if I have to...as he turned his chair to look out the window. That's a plan and smiled.

Asami mind wander momentarily, he recoiled the Russian flag pinned against his window, Izaya always made an entrance or was completely invisible, lucky the last thing Izaya did before he left was help set up Sakazaki, with a simple phone call, but as always izaya way of helping ususal gave Asami a headache.


	11. 11 beer sushi and honestly

Chapter 11: Sushi, Beer and a side order of Honesty.

Returning to present:

Akihito was very tired when he and Feilong returned to the hotel together. It had been a very long morning, and yes, Akihito did have sex with Asami. Many times. Over and over again. Oh, he'd missed that the most, but his emotions were in as much turmoil as ever. Asami had said the three words he'd thought he'd never say in a million, trillion years; my god, he was blushing just at the memory.

'Okay... what now? I've made plans to go out tonight with Ryuichi for sushi.' But, he was feeling somewhat pressured, and more than a little nauseated by some of the revelations of the day. And in the end, what were those two bastards' thoughts behind using him on their attack on Asami and Sion. Did they see him as... what? Just trash... collateral damage? A tool, to be used, or abused, then discarded?

Everything was moving far too swiftly for Akihito to think clearly. He hadn't, and wasn't, prepared for Asami's confession, which was mind blowing. Out of everything, Akihito wasn't ready to go back to how things were. Yes, Asami seemed to have changed, but for how long; did he mean what he'd said?! Unconsciously, he started to rub his shirt sleeves.

Tao had been watching Akihito carefully since they had returned to the hotel. Tao jumped on the bed beside Akihito and playfully tackled him, jarring him away from his thoughts. He could see Akihito was starting to spiral down again, and had distracted him.

Feilong and Tao felt sad about leaving. They had wanted to make sure Akihito was going to handle this "new" Asami the right way and vice versa. Feilong trusted Akihito, he had felt and seen the way Asami treated Akihito this morning was with understanding and caring, and he seemed more than willing to open himself up a lot more.

Akihito's mind was like a mouse on an exercise wheel; too much information taken in, plus Asami could always make Akihito lose his control either by teasing, or taunting him. Akihito was very surprised with this new, overtly romantic Asami. It was all or nothing with the Yakuza, be it possessive and controlling, or now, romantic and caring. Akihito blushed slightly, remembering again Asami's words and his confession of love to him, alone in the office. Asami had always controled the pace of their relationship, but was HE prepared for this...

With those thoughts going round and round in his head, Feilong and Tao had been a good distraction. But now, he was on his own, not comfortable with his ability to control Asami… well, not control him, but to slow down his pace and catch up. Yes, he wanted Asami, but Akihito also liked the new life he'd created for himself.

As Akihito watched the plane rise into the sky, he decided to cancel dinner with Asami. He needed more time, yes, more space... to come to terms with all this. Deep down, Akihito could see the two of them slowly, inevitably falling back into their old patterns. Akihito didn't want or need that; something had to change, but Akihito didn't know just what.

To Ryuichi:

From Kitten:

Ryuichi, have to cancel tonight, too tired. Need to think properly. Sorry, rain check.

Your Akihito.

Signaling for a taxi. Akihito decided that a very long hot bath and a good sleep might get him to think more clearly. Under his breath as he walked to his front door, he muttered "I will thoroughly decided tomorrow." Akihito closed the door, leaving the confusion of the day outside, behind him.

Reliving the morning's events, Asami had become upset seeing Akihito having a panic attack. 'Those bastards will pay.' Frowning, he looked over to the couch, his lips curling into a grin as he recalled when Akihito was on top of him, cheekily whispering in his ear "did you say you love me?" with a glint in his eyes. Mmm, he was delectable. Asami had missed him so much, and was ecstatic he was back, that the phrase "daisuke" (I love you) slipped out. Yes, he loved him, there was no denying it now. For the first time in a very long time, Asami was feeling relaxed as his thoughts kept drifting back to the sexy blonde he had 'had' in the office earlier.

As Asami's work day was finally came to a close, his thoughts were more on Akihito than the people who helped bring him home. Izaya, Mikhail and Feilong all became distant memories.

Asami was eager, a little too 'eager', (chuckling as he readjusted himself) to leave his office. As he was getting ready to go, he was felt his excitement grow, more than the usual for the past several years. He was looking forward to his dinner with Akihito, but mostly just to spend some quiet time together. They had so much to catch up on, three years he wanted to make up for. He had missed his alluring blond kitten, had missed so much time with Akihito. The thought of him ever leaving again would shatter his heart; it nearly did when he watched Akihito leave Sion with Feilong. Asami had subconsciously thought 'what if he runs again...' Asami had pushed that thought out of his mind, never had he second guessed himself, or Akihito's commitment to their relationship. His words were running around in Asami's head. "I am yours, Ryuichi."

When Asami's phone beeped, he read the text. At Akihito's 'rain check', his stomach churned. He closed his eyes, he'd thought everything was sorted with Akihito; he was so sure he would come home. Asami just stared at the message, reading it over and over again. Slowly, a rakish smile graced his face, as a suitable scenario came to mind. 'Well then, if Akihito won't come to me, I will just have to go to him and make him…. No, I'll have to persuade him to come home.' he decided as he picked up his coat to leave.

Akihito was out the bath. He had stayed in a little longer than he should have,, his thoughts were fixated on Asami: can he go back, is it love or possession, what am I, just a trophy?!

Coming out of the bedroom, a knock at the front door pulled him out of his contemplation. Clad in silk slacks and in the matching unbuttoned shirt, he checked the peep hole. It looked like the profile of a very tall alpha male, in a white shirt, and a pair of jeans that hugged his ass perfectly, his hair causally tousled, was standing on his doorstep. Butterflies were whirling away in his stomach again as he leaned his head against his door as if to hide. "Fuck me" he whispered. It was Asami, dressed in his 'oh, my fucking god, so melt-in-my-mouth' smexy way.

When he knocked again, Akihito jumped. Biting his lower lip, Akihito slowly opened the front door. Asami was pleasantly surprised when he saw Akihito in the doorway in an open shirt. "Do you always answer your door so... provocatively, Akihito?" he smiled, leaning in deliberately to purr in his ear, using his 'oh my sexy god smouldering low bedroom voice', making Akihito's neck hairs stand on end.

Akihito blushed and pulled shirt close. "What are you doin'... I cancelled…" he asked, somewhat flustered, with just a hint of 'annoyed' in his voice.

Akihito couldn't help but look at Asami, raking his eyes over his oh so… snap out of it Akihito, you're 26, not 16! But… he's so fucking doable… Akihito was deep in 'thought', looking at a very sensual, and very hot Asami. Said sex-on-a-stick walked into his house, bearing gifts of a sixpack of beer in one hand and a platter of his favorite sushi in the other. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked in a daze as Asami handed the beer over for Akihito to hold.

"I have come to have a beer, eat sushi, and watch one of your trashy movies. I think it's called a date" he said, walking further into the living room.

"O-oh..." Akihito's heart beat in double time. This was a rare occurrence, but the odd time when it did happen… he swallowed roughly, remembering the fireworks Asami'd organized just for him, his heart fluttering, (fuckin' hell, Akihito... you ARE a 16 year old... bollocks) and blushing a deeper rose, he closed the front door.

Akihito politely offered Asami a seat, as he took the sushi off of him and walked into the kitchen, putting the beer in the fridge, and the sushi on the side.

Akihito sat opposite Asami, waiting for a proper explanation to his huffed "why?" as he folded his arms, accidentally showing some bare chest again.

"I understand you cancelled, as you needed time to think, but I wanted some quality time with you. So, I can help plate up the food, have a beer with you and watch a movie... nothing else." Asami's tone was straight forward..

Asami was desperately trying to keep his eyes on Akihito's face, not on his smooth bare chest, which was just screaming to be touched. Akihito was suspicious, all he could mutter was "huh." Asami just raised an eyebrow, a look which he interpreted as legitimate surprise, making Akihito feeling slightly guilty; maybe Asami was here just for company. Akihito nodded, as he stood up to move into the kitchen.

"Okay, Ryuichi... fine, a date. I will fix the food, you can put the movie in the DVD player; its over there." As Akihito smiled, his mind turned to mush as he peeked over to see Asami gracefully bend down to put the DVD in, fuck his ass is so firm in those jean, fuck he so damn hot, I am 100% positive he did this on purpose, he knew I always found him sexier when he's wearing causal clothes, and he especially loved his hair when it looked disheveled. Shaking his head, he chastised himself for the umpteenth time: 'be a man Akihito, you ain't a hormonal teenager, get a grip'.

Akihito walked to and fro, setting the table in front of the couch, grabbing the beer, and sitting close to Asami to watch his gory movie. Asami watched Akihito closely, he knew every time Akihito blushed he was thinking about him. Asami grinned, knowing that yes, he did dressed for Akihito. He knew it would make Akihito think dirty thoughts about him. Just as he thought how Akihito was sexy looking now, agitated, with his bare chest on show. Then Asami was chastising himself when he realised HE was acting like a 16 years old. Justifying his actions with 'it couldn't be helped, Akihito was his, he wanted him back.' Tonight was more a test for him and his self control. He knew Akihito was feeling insecure, panicked and pressured about what had happened today at Sion. Asami knew deep down they had more in common then their perfect sex.

They drank, ate and Akihito moved closer to Asami, his head resting on his shoulder. Asami smiled lightly, he had so missed this. Akihito was feeling like he had this morning: safe, comfortable, maybe just a little bit scared. Asami hadn't tried anything all evening, they just sat and watched the movie with some small talk. Akihito was happy, this was nice; better even than before.

When Asami noticed Akihito had finished his first beer, however, he switched bottles with him. Akihito was puzzled, but shrugged his shoulders, thinking he must have been mistaken. Asami moved to grab another couple of bottles. Asami slowly sipped his drink, while Akihito distracted himself with the movie; when Akihito was halfway through his beer Asami switched bottles again. He wasn't trying to get Akihito drunk, per se, but making it easier to lower Akihito's guard more. Alcohol-wise, Akihito was a light weight, but an honest drunk, so "tipsy" was the word, just to open him up a little more, to let himself in.

Sometime through the second movie, Akihito had slipped onto Asami lap, he tucked his head between his neck and chin and pulled his legs closer. Asami tenderly smiled. He really was a kitten, his breathing was steady, and felt like a purr against his chest. Seriously, Akihito was oblivious to how adorable he really was. Asami wrapped an arm around his back and put his hand on Akihito's hip, his other hand on Akihito's thigh, and he slowly stroked his kitten. This felt like home. Asami could spend eternity just like this. He put his head on top of Akihito's, breathing in his unique scent

"Ryuichi..." he whispered shyly, "what is it you want from me...?" Asami continued gently resting his cheek on Akihito's head. Giving a small kiss on his head, he spoke, low and seductively. Asami's voice resonated through Akihito's body.

"You." Came the reply. Asami felt Akihito tense slightly. "Akihito...I want you to come home where you have always belonged." As he kissed his head again, Akihito sighed and cuddled further into him.

"We can't go back, Ryuichi. We're different people, now, wanting different things." Akihito felt like crying, not sure if he was saying what he truly believed, but needing it to be said out loud.

Asami nuzzled him, his warm breath flowing through Akihito's hair, trickling down his neck. Oh, this moment was so beautiful, he could fall apart with the intensity of the emotions he was feeling with that very small gesture.

"Akihito...can I explain something that...I needed to say to you sooner, about what we were, what we are, will you listen to me... and not try to run. Please, just listen to everything I have to say" Asami pauses "it's like my… confession." Akihito shifted slightly in nervousness.

As he opened his mouth, Akihito hesitated. "O...okay..." Akihito, turned to grab the remote and paused the movie.

"First things first, the past... our first encounter. It was just meant to punish you, however, somewhere in that moment my, body started to move on its own. I realised I was having sex with you, which wasn't the intent at all of that night. I lost control; you made ME lose control..." Asami could sense Akihito was feeling uncomfortable. He squeezed him tighter, trying to make him feel secure.

He whispered into his hair "Just listen, okay? Will you do that for me… please?" Akihito nodded slowly.

"You did something to me that night, you changed me... it scared me, more than you know, but I put it down to a flight of fancy. Time moved on, and I would think that I was starting to forget about you, maybe likewise with you... then I bumped into you in the street. Again, I hid behind my indifference, but you made me feel something I could not understand... that's why I came by your place at 3 a.m. in the rain, you were like a reoccurring itch I had to scratch." Asami hand smoothly caressed Akihito's thigh and waist, trying to keep Akihito grounded so he wouldn't just jump off and run.

"After, when you asked me 'are you leaving', reaching out to me, I nearly turned around and said 'no'... Again, the thought of us together terrified me, so I gave a snarky comment... I apologize, I realised then, in that moment, you were always going to be more than a one night stand. You were becoming something terrifying, so I just hid behind sarcasm and cold remarks." Asami could feel an ache in his heart.

"Yes, I won't deny that I enjoyed winding you up, because you would always jump to the wrong conclusions, and I let you... But, that night you came to the hotel to beg for help to save your friends, you…" Asami, shuddered, squeezing him tighter.

"You broke me. My world crumbled, my feelings ran wild, I nearly gave you what you wanted. As you stormed away, I tried to explain what you were asking of me. I asked you to choose between killing your friends, or a lot of strangers. I was angry, not with you, but with myself 'cause right there, I would have given it all for you..." Akihito tensed, realising Asami was being honest, remembering his words… 'he felt they were directed at him, but he was trying to protect me'.

"You told me I had no kind of value" he whispered into his neck.

"Yes, I did. I lied, it was..." pausing for a moment, as he still caressed Akihito. "It was my lie, to myself. I believed if you thought I was using you, maybe I could keep you safe... Feilong already though he could use you to get to me, and he was right. So, when you surrendered yourself to me, giving yourself willing... I knew I could never let you go, ever, my existence was you, and you were the only one I needed to keep safe. Of course, it backfired; you were too stubborn, you need to save your friends, and I needed to protect you."

Akihito brain felt like it was tilting, trying to catch up, trying to understand Asami's words. But, there were no hidden meanings, these were raw emotions. Tears started to drip down his face. Asami held him tighter still, feeling his shirt getting damp.

"Feilong took you. I had failed to protect you... I was shot for failing in my duty." Akihito sniffed, rubbing away a few tears.

"But I got you back... I knew I wasn't ever letting go. Again, my stubborn Akihito mistook what I was saying, and I let you, you weren't ready. I wasn't ready for what our relationship was, so I played your game. I teased and taunted you, even while I said I cared for you. You called me a villain, you wouldn't listen, so I tried using sex to make you understand that I wanted you. I used sex to make you crave only me, I marked you to your bones, that you, no matter what you'd do, you would always come flying back, only to me. It worked. I made you addicted to me; however, my need to carve myself into your soul was like a door it opens both ways. I also carved you deeper into my soul. I became so addicted to you and your fire. But you were young and reckless, and it infuriated me each time you did something stupid, and got injured. I got angry, not at you, at me for failing again and again in not being able to protect you." Akihito lifted his head and looked at Asami's face, his eyes soft, flickering with sadness. Akihito stroked his cheek. Asami just closed his eyes.

"Let me finish, Kitten... please." Akihito smoothly moved his head back onto the yakuza's neck, staring up enough to watch his lips move.

"Then Sudou Shuu happened. You recklessly tried to help me by engaging with that club owner Sak..." Asami refused say his name.

Akihito stiffened, knowing that Asami knew what happen between him and that fucking idiot. Akihito started shaking, unable to control his breathing. He was going into full panic mode, 'Asami, he's going to kill me, this was his intention all along…' Akihito mind and body started struggling, trying to pull away. Asami's grip hardened.

"Akihito" his was tone firm. "Akihito... Kitten, listen" his voice was still firm, but softer. "Listen to me, please, I'm begging you. Akihito, breathe with me, slowly."

Akihito's was breathing fast and shallow, he was being held tight against Asami's broad, hard chest. Akihito could feel Asami's heartbeat, it was beating slow and steady. "Akihito, listen to me, we promised each other truth and honesty" Akihito lifted slightly so he could see Asami's eyes; they were calm, warm. Akihito couldn't see or feel any hate in them.

Akihito squeaked "I did... I'm sorry... it was a mistake... I never intended", his breath catching. Asami rubbing his back and thigh, trying to relax him again.

"I know Akihito, I know you didn't, and wouldn't try to hurt me. It's forgiven and forgotten, it's in the past, okay; just listen, alright?" Asami's eyes were pleading.

Akihito nodded, slowly returning to curling up against his chest. His breathing started to ease, and as soon as Asami felt Akihito relax into him, he took a breath, and carried on.

"Then that other Suduo incident...you were taken AGAIN...I felt I needed to lock you up, for my peace of mind... not because you were some possession or property. I wanted you to be safe, to stop you from hurting yourself anymore... But something changed in you that night, I didn't understand why. I just knew you were different. It was the first time that you kissed me. Not the other way around." Asami beamed at the memory, while Akihito blushed. "I wasn't going to say no; maybe you were letting me in, after so long?" Asami was now barely stroking Akihito's arm. It was soothing, but sent impulses to Akihito's other head.

"Akihito... your value..." lifting Akihito's chin so he'd look into his eyes, "your value... since the night you jump off Sion's roof…" Asami closed his eyes. When he opened them again, Akihito could see twin fires burning inside them; deep, hell fires of madness.

"Your value has alway been priceless... I would burn Tokyo to the ground if you asked me to. I have, and I would kill for you again, ONLY. YOU. Can you understand my dilemma? It's you... you are everything to me, you hold me in the palm of your hand, you can command me to do your bidding. Can you see how terrified I was, and still am, to let you know the power you have over me?" Akihito was breathless. He felt it as Asami opened his heart as wide as it could, enveloping him, and locking him deep inside, so deep he could never hope to escape.

Akihito shifted so he was straddling Asami lap. Moving slightly, Akihito's heartbeat was pulsing faster, he grabbed the back of Asami's neck, pulling him closer to his lips. Akihito whispered "MINE". It was all he could say, as he pushed his lips against Asami 's mouth, no resistance, no hesitation, just understanding, just love. Asami's grip tightened, and held on. As the need for oxygen took hold, Akihito smiled as he looked at Asami. "Thank you" was all he said. This was what Akihito needed, the truth, unadulterated honesty. Akihito felt dizzy, overcome with all of his emotions and sudden tiredness. Then, in the next moment Akihito just collapsed.

When Akihito awoke, he was disoriented. The night had been a blur, but he remembered it all, everything that was said, everything that was felt. He became aware that he was naked, and there was a wall of warm, delicious skin lying next to him. Akihito realised for the first time, that Asami always held on to him in his sleep, never letting go, making sure he was safe beside him. Akihito traced his fingers over every line of muscle from Asami's shoulder up, then gracefully tracing his chest, down over his abs, to the " v" cut below his navel. Ghostly soft finger tips touched every part of the body against his. As his hand trailed back up to the neck, Akihito's eyes met with golden eyes staring at him. Akihito smiled, Asami looked too amused.

Within seconds, Akihito was on his back. Asami bit his Akihito's neck and whispered "Have you any classes at the university today?" as he admired the bite mark appearing on Akihito's skin.

"No" Akihito said, catching his breath as he shook his head.

"Good, then I shall carry on" Asami rumbled as he waited for Akihito to acquiesce. Akihito beamed, and managed to wriggle free enough from Asami to find leverage, then flip him onto his back.

Asami's pupils dilated, a look of lust making his eyes hazy. He was momentarily astounded at Akihito again as he planted hard nips and kisses down Asami's body. When he reached his navel, Akihito looked up. Asami's eyes were black with pupils, he so wanted this; huh, they both did. Akihito gave him a saucy smile, then engulfed his large penis, straight down his throat. Asami's breath hitched as his body jerked. Looking down into Akihito's smouldering eyes, for the first time in forever, Asami found himself grasping for his self-control. The hot, warm mouth moved slowly, allowing Akihito to curl his tongue in quick twists upward around the smooth hardness inside it. When he reached the glans, he lightly gripped the flared edge of the head with his teeth as he started to mercilessly use the tip and sides of his tongue to lick, and rub, and swipe up to the tip, circling then dipping into the small opening there, only to release his teeth and swirl suddenly down to the base of Asami's shaft. Gripping gently with his teeth again, he began to rise back up to the tip, rocking his head from side to side, just to suck hard on the head for several moments, and plunge back down the shaft. As he continued to torment Asami, he'd look up through his lidded eyes to check on his progress. Every white-knuckled grip of bed sheets, every stretch of tendon and muscle, every toe curl of pleasure made him move a little faster. What really spurred him on was Ryu's sweaty shivers and the tense lines that appeared on that gorgeous face, only to slide away with the next breathy moan. It was Akihito's own groans around his shaft that finally caused his lover's muscles to tense up. As Asami's gasped out loud, Akihito swallowed him down his throat again, earning a curse from Asami. Panting hard, he moaned "l-I'm cumming... Akihito." As his name slipped out, warm liquid slid down Akihito's throat, and he swallowed everything. Waiting until Asami's orgasmis tremors slowed, he shifted himself off, and looked up at Asami, who reached down to pull him up into a kiss. Oh, how he'd missed this, everything his Akihito had to offer. He would never, couldn't ever let him go. Akihito could read his thoughts. "Mine" was all Akihito said, smiling his radiant smile.

"You naughty kitten" he laughed as he flipped Akihito on his back again, making sure this time he was pinned properly, and couldn't move. "You, and I, are staying, in bed, all day, I hope, you know... my. Cute. Aki-hi-to" he said, every pause caused by a sharp nip down his boy's neck to his chest. As his lips circled around Akihito's nipple, a moan escaped. "I am going to tease you, taunt you, and be the sadistic bastard you know, Akihito. That is who I am, and I will always give you everything you desire..." Asami breathed "ai shiteru" (I am in love with you). Then,"MINE" he growled, biting his nipple hard then soothing the sting away with his tongue.

Akihito growled back softly. Akihito knew what he meant, he wasn't going to change this man, this was who he was, nor would he want to. But, he made sure that Akihito would NEVER, EVER again doubt his place in Asami's world. Akihito, right at the moment he heard him whisper "ai shiteru" broke, letting everything go: years of distrust, insecurity, pain. Tears fell like a Spring rain; Asami Ryuichi was his, and no one else's.

.

Akihito's heart beat skipped, tears cascading down his cheeks, his breathing increased. Asami was leaving a trail of love bites from his chest down to his hip bone, "Ryuichi..." he gasped "I will give you, your everything" Akihito panted out. He now understood what those words meant, that Asami told him in Bali. As he lifted his chin to look at him, Asami's smile was glorious. Akihito had never see that face before. Asami was captivating him with his words and actions, and Akihito realised he was ensnared. The freedom he always demanded was given away at that moment, freely to this man, as Asami's freedom was given to him. Akihito also knew that they would never tire of trying to captivate each other's hearts.


	12. 12 your fate was sealed

Restart my life: Chapter 11: you're fate was sealed

Feilong was back in Hong Kong, so he wouldn't have to deal with him for a while, at least. Asami decided, then, after Akihito confirmed he wasn't going to the university for the week, that he was prepared to make up for three years of sexual frustration, starting with tying Akihito to his bed for at least part of that week.

The beer and sushi date had worked. Until Akihito passed out on top him, he had listened and finally understood everything. Akihito said "MINE", kissed him feverishly then passed out, which was something of a surprise. Maybe it was too much information all at once; it had been a strenuous day, and he had said he was tired, after all.

Asami had always woke up before Akihito, and this morning, he simply enjoyed the warmth of his lover's body next to his again, but when his boy started trancing the contours of his muscles, his control began wavering. Asami was pleased when he had pinned Akihito to the bed, it had been just too long since they were last like this. To Asami's amused astonishment, the little minx had flipped him. Asami was so turned on by their mutual heat, and Akihito's blowjob had been, well, mind blowing. 'I told Akihito I loved him... and he offered his everything to me. That was it, we were connected. We understood completely that we're both prisoners of our own making.'

Now, both of their pent up urges needed to be relieved; immediately, if not sooner. Akihito had laughed in agreement, but he still had his independent streak, so he was never going to be readily, truly or fully submitting to Asami.

Asami wondered why Akihito had a sprightly grin on his face when he seriously suggested spending the week in bed. Asami soon found out that his little brat was now even more infuriating due to the fact that Akihito was more dexterous, inventive and he had BLOODY learnt a few more new skills, like tying, and untying, knots. Well, on the bright side, Asami was going to enjoy ferreting out what all Feilong had taught him.

When Asami finally found a knot Akihito couldn't easily escape from, he made a mental note: upgrade all the cuffs and buy stronger clips to chain him up in the secret room. Also, this will mean that from now on, catching him is going to be an unrelenting nightmare.

With Akihito finally tied naked to the bed, Asami took a few moments breather and smiled, admiring the indulgence spread before him.

"You're a sadistic fucking shit. One FUCKIN' day, you old bastard," Akihito managed as he panted, his body arching, muscles straining under the ministrations of Asami's hand on his cock, which was stroked very softly, very slowly, twisting around it leisurely, every now and then. Akihito flexed against Asami's ropes, intertwined around his arms and wrists, holding them in place above his head. Akihito was pulling at them, which did about as much good as ever.

Asami raised an eyebrow, and murmured: "You are not getting out of those bonds, my sweet kitten", nipping at Akihito's ear.

Asami was amused as he watched him, his eyes glazed over, his head thrashing from side to side. Asami loved watching his face, his mouth drooling, the blush on his cheeks, tears running down like rain, as he slowly drove Akihito out of his mind. "Now, now, simply because some of us prefer to relax and appreciate the good things in life instead of rushing everything, there is no need to be disrespectful, my cute Aki-hi-to."

"You think I'm complimenting y-you...perverted bastard you-" Akihito broke off in a guttural moan as Asami rubbed a thumb slow and hard over his sensitive tip. He wasn't going to last much longer, at this rate.

"Language, Akihito" Asami purred, his eyes shimmering. Indeed, his Akihito was astounding. "You need to remember: patience is a virtue, that should be nurtured." Asami leaned down to trace tortuously light circles with his tongue over Akihito's nipples.

"Ryuichi... please!" he screamed. As he pulled harder against the ropes around his arms, Akihito arched his back further, offering himself up to Asami, trying to get more of that soft, wet touch.

When Asami closed his teeth down hard on his nipple, that was all it took for Akihito to finally break."Please," he gasped, "Ryuichi, please, please, Ryuichi, stop screwing around and get to fucking me already!" Asami made an obliging sound as his long, strong fingers tightening around his cock.

48 hours later Akihito was moaning about Asami's ropes and his unrelenting libido. Asami was pleasantly surprised that Akihito's stamina was nearly on par with his own. That was going to be… troublesome in the future.

Asami knew there and then if Akihito had been a problem before, he was going to be down right aggravating now. He was actually contented with that thought, it would allow them to make use of the secret room more often. Akihito had embraced his masochistic tendencies, which Asami had been exploring over the past day.

Akihito was making breakfast, like the last three years hadn't happened; except Akihito now had some ability to sneek up on Asami, which, in between bedroom sessions, was Akihito's other enjoyable pastime.

While Akihito was putting breakfast on the table, Asami snaked his arms around Akihito waist, and snuggled into his neck, breathing in Akihito's soap and shampoo, combined with his exclusive scent.

"What's the matter?" Akihitp asked, as he turned within his grasp, and kissed his neck.

"Nothing, I just missed this; us." Letting go and sat down, leaving a flustered Akihito blushing deeply. Akihito has been surprised over how open Asami was with him. He wondered if Asami might of had a head injury while he was gone. But, that insufferable smirk would reappear, and then the sadistic bastard was back. Asami has become more attentive of Akihito, sometimes to his embarrassment, where he just wanted to bury himself under a large rock. Who'd have thought that stoic man was secretly a romantic; well, a romantic sadistic bastard. Wait, well, a 'perverted romantic sadistic bastard' Akihito reiterated in his head.

As Akihito sat next to Asami to eat, Asami was already enjoying his breakfast. It tasted better than he remembered. He looked over to Akihito, who was still struggling not to blush.

"Akihito, I have a surprise for you today, a little gift that I have kept for your return." Akihito looked up at him, surprised, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Oh yes, there it was, that fucking smirk.

"I don't like your surprises. Ryuichi." Akihito just stared at him, knowing Asami wouldn't even give him any clues.

"Well, my little kitten, you will like this one. I promise."

'Oh... there it is, the bastard's trademark smug smirk, which means I really won't like it', Akihito surmised.

"I do have a name, it's AKIHITO, not bloody Kitten", he groused. Suddenly, Akihito face went from scowling to looking devious as he waited for the right moment. "But, whatever you say... Big Boy", and winked. That was it. The coffee Asami was drinking sprayed all over the table, followed with a coughing fit to match. Akihito was actually quite proud of himself as he departed very quickly from his seated position, before Asami could grab hold of him.

"So, where are we going, we've been driving for nearly an hour. I am getting bored."

"Oh, that is quite a problem. Perhaps I could help you relieve your boredom. Maybe releasing some more of that sexual tension you've kept bottled up, could help elevate your current predicament, however... Kitten, we have just arrived. Shame." Asami smiled as he put a few files down on the seat next to him.

Akihito rolled his eyes. "Seriously, Ryuichi, can't your libido take time off, koibito (sweetheart)?" Akihito asked as he bailed out of the limo, beating Suoh to opening his door. Akihito could hear Asami's rumble of laughter cut off as the door swung back shut.

"Well, this is a surprise. Soooo, why are we at" looking around, "some abandoned place, out in the ass end of nowhere?" Akihito frowned.

Asami was still laughing at Akihito's attempt to embarrass him with another term of endearment as he got out of vehicle, but he thought koibito (sweetheart) would work, just as well as 'bastard', maybe. Asami's demeanour changed when he heard Akihito's question, a sly look creeping over his face. "Really, you were much more agreeable when I mentioned this in the office. I have told you many times," pausing as he whispered in Akihito ear "koibito, have patience. I see Feilong failed on that part of your training, at least." Akihito blushed wildly; he felt like he was gonna blow a fuse.

Akihito could be extremely patient when it came to his work, but for some reason, Asami could always push the 'delete' button on his self control. Thinking 'Shit, I may have pushed my luck with koibito. HE actually might start using it.' Mentally sighing at the pet name Asami had given him, either way, he wasn't gonna win. Huffing at himself and his man, he let Asami guide him towards the building. It was a small house, far from the outskirts of Tokyo. From the outside, it looked ramshackled and abandoned, but inside it was clean and lived-in from what Akihito could see.

Asami lead the way into the house, when they reached the living room, there was a couch and a small kitchen was visible off to the side. Asami walked in and sat down, and with a look Akihito inferred he was to sit down next to him. Akihito sat, puzzled, not sure what was going on. He looked at Asami with a confused expression.

Asami kissed Akihito's temple. "Trust me" Asami said. "Trust me, koibito. You'll like this", and a dark smile came across Asami's face.

Akihito jumped when there was a bang, then another, louder bang further back in the house. As he watched the doorway of the living room, he wondered what was coming. Asami took hold of his hand, squeezing it gently. Akihito looked up at Asami and smiled, calming a bit. Asami bent down and kissed his cheek.

Then three figures came into the room. Suoh walked behind two men, who were blindfolded and bound with their hands behind their backs. Suoh wasn't gentle in his handling of them. 'Wow', Akihito blinked as Suoh kicked the back of their knees so they'd hit the hard wooden floor hard, kneeling down before the couch. Akihito snarled when he recognised them, bile raising in his throat from just looking at the two of them.

Asami nodded. Suoh removed their blindfolds. They blinked rapidly as their eyes adjusted to the light. When their eyes fell on who was sitting on the couch, they were first drawn towards Asami, then their gazes moved to Akihito. Written on their faces was shock, and fear; well, that was perhaps a bit of an understatement.

Asami could feel Akihito's agitation at their guests. With another squeeze of his hand, Akihito looked at Asami, and then a huge smile crossed their faces simultaneously.

"A present. I kept them for your return. They are yours, if you want them" Asami purred close to Akihito's cheek. Asami was going to torture then kill them as soon as Akihito came home, but when he saw the bloodlust in Akihito's eyes in his office, it was then he decided that Akihito had to be the one to deal with them.

Akihito could see that Suduo Shuu was staring with all the menace he could muster at the affection showing between Asami and he, while a look of disgust was all Sakazaki could drum up. That sleaze bag. Akihito remembered he used to own a few small nightclubs. He had also forced Akihito to give him a blow job. Eww, just the thought of it was making him sick. He subconsciously started to scratch his arm.

"Akihito" Asami spoke firmly to get Akihito's attention. Akihito stopped instantly, then smiled brightly.

"What have you got planned for them?" Akihito hummed.

"Anything you feel like, Kitten. They are a 'welcome home' gift as they tried so very hard to destroy you and me" he murmured into Akihito's ear.

Akihito eyes were alight with possibilities. He could see Suduo Shuu giving him a death glare. If looks could kill… Akihito mused, then smiled sweetly at Suduo. However, Sakazaki was just grumbling under his voice.

Akihito looked straight at Asami, his eyes dancing. He had an idea. Akihito bit his bottom lip as he slowly took of his jacket off as sensually as he could, dropping it beside Asami, who's smirk looked a little too pleased for his own good. Akihito swayed his hips as he gracefully walked towards Suduo Shuu and knelt next him. Asami's eyes watched Akihito movement's with delight. Asami always knew Akihito was sensual but damn, does he even know how sexy he is, or had Feilong's training just enhance the effect?

Akihito knelt close to Suduo as he undid his wrist ties and gave him a smile. "That feel better?"

Akihito asked close to his ear, while he gently rubbing Suduo wrists, knowing it would piss him off. " You still look lovely after all these years, time been good on you." Leaning closer to his face, so he was breathing into his ear, Akihito's gaze never leaving Asami.

"It's really a nice surprise to see you again, ALIVE, that is" Akihito stood up and moved slowly behind Suduo, then knelt again, both men now looking at Asami, who's eyes were filled with amusement.

"Shuu, if I may call you that" more a remark than asking permission. "I have a proposal, a simple game for you to play. You are free to decline, however, that would have… consequences." Akihito said, rubbing Shuu's shoulders. Akihito could feel him tense up, he didn't want to be touched by him; knowing that, Akihito looked towards the fixer and winked.

With a fierce shrug, he shook Akihito's hands from his shoulders. "Don't touch me" he spat with a disgusted look, as if Akihito was less than dirt. A warning growl was heard from Asami, who's eyes were on Suduo's every movement.

"Now now, my sweet. I understand that Shuu doesn't like me, and if I was in his place I probably wouldn't like me either" the blond's hands were back on his shoulders. Shuu just glared. The other captive just looked on at this display, wondering what Akihito was up to. Akihito noticed. "l haven't forgotten about you. Your punishment is going to be a lot quicker, but a lot more painful, so don't worry. We are just having a little domestic squabble here" Akihito chuckled.

"Shuu, my little game is simple really, all you have to do is tell me the truth, and you are free to go; lie, however, well, that would be a different story, understand? Now, do you love this man sitting before you on the couch" he asked, both of them looking at Asami. Asami motioned Suoh over to get himself and Akihito a drink as he lit a cigarette and smiled.

"Now, answer truthfully" he said, rubbing his shoulders, "don't be shy, Shuu, this is your chance to tell him you love him." Suduo turned and gave Akihito a glare, like 'Well, walking into Sion, in costume, with a bow on my neck because he asked me to… how stupid are you, really?'. Akihito just smiled encouragingly, as he held onto Shuu's shoulders. "Answer truthfully in this game and you will be rewarded."

Suduo swallowed, he shyly looked at Asami, then smiled with confidence and spoke. "Yes, l love him." Asami just ignored him as he inhaled the smoke, and watched Akihito.

"See, sweetie, that wasn't to hard now." He patted his shoulders, as in 'good job'. "So why did you get into bed, figuratively, I assume, 'cause I wouldn't know who would, willingly," Asami chuckled, amused by Akihito "with that piece of shit over there. Why, Shuu, did you try to destroy him? Did you think Asami's fall from grace would get you into his bed, AFTER you betrayed him, not once, but twice?" Akihito was starting to get a bit upset.

"Did you think you could replace me in his bed?" With a tighter squeeze on his shoulders, he could feel Suduo tense up again. "You'll never be punished for speaking the truth, it's a trait that Asami finds very attractive." Shuu's eyes were staring straight at Asami, who nodded in agreement, his trademark smirk was still in place as the cigarette smoke escape from his lip.

Shuu turned to look at Akihito and snarled, "I didn't know he was gonna use that recording to try and destroy Asami, I thought it was meant to break you two up. Yes, I love him. Asami and I are the most compatible in every way, and not just anybody can have him. Someone worthy of him, not a stupid photographer street trash who's barely attractive. It should have been me. Not you. You ruined everything. You disgraced Asami repeatedly, you are just a pet, a bedwarmer, a whore that got his hooks into him. You confused Asami, and dragged him down." Shuu's breathing becoming ragged, as if he'd been wanting to say that for a very long time.

Asami was just about to stand up when Akihito raised his finger to indicate that he had this. "Remember, as long a Shuu tells the truth, he won't be harmed." Asami sat back and took a sip of his drink, wondering where this was going. Akihito never took his eyes off Shuu, he gave him a small smile as he gently stroked his hair.

"Don't touch me " he grimaced at Akihito's touch, trying to flinch away.

Looking mildly hurt, Akihito spoke. "Shuu, three years ago, I would have agreed with your statement. However, I have never once betrayed Asami, deceived him, stole from or lied to him; so now, explain how you are better than me?" Asami just smiled at Akihito.

"Also, about my looks: I AM the only natural blue-eyed blond here." Asami laughed out loud, surprising everyone. Suduo looked upset, while Sakazaki snickered at the comment. Suoh just stifled a suspicious cough behind a fist.

"There is a saying that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so I think Asami may disagree with you there."

In his deep, seductive voice, Asami purred "I find Akihito very beautiful." Shuu just stared at Asami.

Akihito turned back to Shuu "Like I said, Shuu, I would have agreed with you three years ago. But not now." Shuu's eyes snapped open and looked at him, surprised. He finally noticed the change in Akihito's demeanour; he wasn't that scared boy any more that he remembered, there was something new about him.

"I am a new kind of beast" Akihito whispered in Shuu ear as he was looking towards Asami, who now growled in approval.

Asami loved Akihito, however, in the years apart he had to admit that his boy was even more of a untamed wildcat, and he was all his. Asami felt a definite twitch in his pants. Akihito always had that effect on him; Akihito alway surprised him at every turn. His eyes flicked with desire towards Akihito.

Akihito could read his mind at that moment. He had seen that look often enough, just before they collided in the kind of kisses that left him weak. Akihito smiled, and grabbed Shuu's chin and made him look at Asami. "Look, Shuu, look at Asami. Do you see that look, can you see the desire in his eyes?" Shuu just looked at Asami.

"Yes", he whispered, upset.

"And who is he looking at, with those oh so golden eyes that can pierce your very soul?" Akihito hummed. No answer came. Asami's eyes traveled down, then back up Akihito's body, and his desire became hunger.

"Do you see, Shuu? Look at him! Who is he looking at with those eyes of his, those eyes that promise so much, the ones you wished were aimed at you, that made you long to be the cause of that desire?" Now Akihito was starting to feel a certain twitch as well; but control was very much needed right now. "Answer, Shuu." He squeezed his chin harder. Shuu turned to look at Akihito, and with a defiant look, said nothing.

It had nearly cost him two more rambunctious hours in bed that morning, when Asami had walked into the bedroom as he was strapping his knife onto his calf. Akihito wondered how that could turn Asami on so damn fast. Akihito actually ran out his house, a few neighbors staring at him, running towards the limo like the Devil Himself was after him. As far as the little blond was concerned, He was, and this was the only way to save his ass.

Snick. Akihito's knife was in his hand, behind Shuu's back. "Now Shuu, it's just a little game. I ask you a few questions, you answer honestly and you'll get a prize; if you lie or refuse to answer, you forfeit." Akihito made a quick, shallow cut on Suduo's back, through his shirt. Akihito knew he didn't feel it, but soon he would. Asami heard the slight noise, and knew Akihito had pulled the knife, but didn't see any other movement.

"Asami's just going to kill us anyway, so whats the point?" Suduo spoke bitterly. A sadistic smirk crossed Akihito's face, then disappeared again. Another quick cut was made to a different spot on Suduo's back.

"I want to play with you a little, that's all. I thought you were smart." Akihito sighed, sounding dejected. Letting go of his chin he then leaned towards Sakazaki.

" I haven't forgot about you, but I won't be playing a game with you" he chuckled. Sakazaki looked surprised.

"Shuu" Akihito grabbed his chin again, making him look at Asami. "Don't look away from him, or you'll forfeit the game" Akihito was rubbing Shuu's lower back with the palm of his hand. "Now where were we… oh yes, desire; who was Asami looking at, you or me?" Shuu sighed.

"You." Matching smirks appeared on both Akihito's and Asami's faces.

"Well done; another question: you say that Asami is like a god among men. He is handsome, intelligent, powerful, and wealthy." Shuu nodded sullenly in agreement. "See, not so hard this game, is it. Oh, that one's rhetorical."

"You fell in love with Asami Ryuichi," again, Suduo gave a nod. "I don't blame you, he's a force of nature, so dangerous and so desirable. So, truthfully, how could you have betrayed him so badly, not just once but fucking twice," another two cuts sliced into Suduo's skin.

"Then," Akihito giggled, "you really thought you could hop into his bed, without a second thought or care?" A pained expression went across his face at the thought of this man's audacity.

Akihito wielded his blade like surgeon, even Asami couldn't see what the blade was doing. Feilong had taught him 'death by a thousand cuts'. Akihito didn't like the thought of torture, but Suduo was royalty pissing him off. So explain why you set up Asami in that hotel room" the photographer demanded, feeling anger boil through his veins.

"It was to get rid of you. Once you were gone, he'd return to his senses and he'd realise that you were nobody and he'd fall in love with me." Asami and Akihito laughed while Shuu stayed defiant.

"You thought I bewitched Asami, that an intelligent and cunning man like him was deceived by a simple, stupid photographer. You really have no faith in your god, then. You are a fool." he spat, getting more upset.

"Shuu, you're fate was sealed before I came into his life. Asami just needs one look, one. look. to see if he can trust a person. Asami knew about your betrayal before you even did it. When you cried in front of him, you lost everything in that moment." Akihito watched as Shuu started to realise that Asami had never wanted him.

"Asami, I'm sorry, forgive me, please" Shuu blurted out. Asami just lit another cigarette. His emotions were not moved. Akihito still smiled

"Well, congratulations, you fooled me. Three years I believed your recording," sighed as he recalled the memory. Shuu's focus stayed on Asami. Three more shallow swipes of the blade went unnoticed.

"Shuu" Akihito purred with a drip of poison in his voice. "SUDUO SHUU... actually, you should be apologising to me, as I am the one holding you life in the balance." Akihito stood up, slipping the knife into his sock, dusted off his trouser, then walked back to Asami and sat on his lap. With Asami's chest against Akihito's back, he leaned into Asami, almost like he was recharging batteries. Asami smiled, his hand resting across Akihito's thighs.

Akihito didn't take his eyes off of Shuu. He could see the revulsion in his eyes. Akihito smiled, he could feel Asami's steady heartbeat through his shirt. Akihito took a deep breath and relaxed into him. Asami smiled and chuckled into Akihito's ear, his warm breath tickled the fine hairs down the back of Akihito's neck. He shivered, getting turned on. Asami chuckled when he realised Akihito's reaction.

"I can feel your heartbeat, Akihito, you are far too sexy. I heard the snap of your knife harness." Akihito tensed, his pulse sped up; Asami chuckled.

Akihito started from his trance; he wasn't thinking of anything, just staring blankly at Shuu. Akihito sat forward and in a smooth, unemotional voice asked: "Shuu, you called me a pet, a bedwarmer, a whore, which isn't nice, so where's my apology?"

Akihito leaned a little forward. "Can I tell you a secret? I am Asami's bedwarmer, his whore and l am anything else he needs me to be." Akihito felt his back being rubbed, Asami offering him comfort if he needed it. Akihito smiled at the contact, and continued.

"But do you want to know what I am not? I'm not a liar, a thief, or a traitor. I don't think Asami is a god, and I certainly don't worship him. l don't want or need his power or his wealth. l just want the man. You were, and are, a jealous little twat. You envied what Asami achieved in his life. You wanted to be a big man like him, however, for all your cleverness you were a pale comparison. So then you decided to use Asami to get to what you wanted." His gaze then slid over to Sakazaki.

"And you, don't even come close" Akihito sneered as he leaned back against the hard, warm chest behind him.

Asami whispered into his ear. "Akihito, stop moving so much, you're making my dick ache" and bite his ear. Akihito giggled.

Looking at Shuu, he continued. "You also called me Asami's pet." Biting his lip, he continued.

"Should I tell you a another little secret…? I am not Asami's pet, never was, never will be. Do you want to know something interesting that I did realise not so long ago?" looking at Suduo and Sakazaki, he stated "Asami is MY pet." Shuu just scoffed at the idea.

"Seriously." Akihito was beaming now. " I have two pets actually, I have a dragon in Hong Kong, and a panther in Tokyo; and let me tell you something: they do MY bidding" Shuu was outright laughing.

However, Sakazaki's eyes widened with the realization that Akihito was right.

"I know, it's hard to believe, but with a command my panther would rip your throat out. Remember: everyone that has every touched me, is dead." Akihito eyes had turned cold as steel, looking at Sakazaki as he spoke the words. Shuu paled as he was recalled some of the stories he'd heard from the guards at Sion.

"Oh... Ryuichi, I think he is finally getting it" Asami smiled as he caressed his thigh.

"My hard on is growing. I'd be happy to fuck you with an audience, so business needs to be wrapped up, fast." Asami murmured, kissing Akihito's ear.

Akihito stood up, knowing otherwise Asami would fuck him senseless, there and then, and walked back to Shuu, placing his hand back on his shoulder.

"Do you understand my value now" Akihito looked smug "knowing what I have told you is the truth? Do you understand the truth is, you never really loved Asami, you wanted to use him for your own gain, thinking that you could eventually replace him and take all of what belonged to him" Akihito grabbed Shuu's face in a bruising grip.

"You hurt him, cut him deep, tried to cripple him. And left me, a poor, sad little photographer to run away, thinking I wasn't good enough". Akihito eyes glazed over as his grip tightened.

"Where's my fuckin' apology" Akihito was starting to lose some control. Asami could see Akihito's emotions begin to spiral.

"Akihito" Asami spoke up. Akihito turned towards his voice, blinking at Asami, both feeling the torment in his words. Akihito nodded, acknowledging the situation. He let go and Shuu rubbed his jaw. Akihito stood behind him, watching the blood seep slowly from his cuts.

"Shuu, answer my question. Now." His eyes danced with fury; taking in his demand, Shuu jumped slightly.

"Sorry" Suduo stuttered. Asami smiled. Akihito was beautiful, stronger, closer to being his equal.

Akihito's smirk could rival Asami's. "Shuu, that was a lie, so in my little game you forfeit, sorry." Shuu paled, and turned towards Akihito. He was going to protest, but after seeing the look on the smaller man's face, decided to change his mind.

"Oh, thank you, by the way; those three years made me have to be a lot stronger. I understand my value, now" the younger man caressed Shuu's face.

"Now, Shuu, back to my point that you lied: if you were me, what would you do to someone like yourself. Now, be honest, Shuu, if it were me, what would you do?"

Shuu looked at Asami "I'd kill you, put a bullet between your eyes" Akihito smiled.

"See, being honest is liberating" he walked back to Asami and straddled his lap without hesitation. Asami kissed him so passionately, they could have started fucking each, right there and then.

They pulled away from each other only because they needed to breath. Akihito got up and sat beside Asami, smiling at Shuu.

"I have an idea. As Shuu realised he lied to me, I think he should get a secondary prize. Sakazaki should give Shuu a blowjob." Akihito grinned, the look on their faces was horrified.

Asami hummed, he liked that idea very much "Aren't you a clever little thing, Akihito."

Shuu stood up and shouted out an absolutely affronted "No!"

Akihito glared at him and snapped "Sit the fuck down, and shut the fuck up!" Shocked, Shuu sat back down.

Akihito moved around on the couch, lying on his side and placed his head on Asami lap, while Asami just started stroking Akihito's hair, as if they were home watching the telly. Asami motioned to Suoh to untie Sakazaki. "Well then, go down on Shu" Sakazaki looked at Asami, and just sniggered.

"I doubt I'd be any good, but maybe your kitten should do it. I remember he was amazing at giving head" and smirked. As if he let a secret slip, that Asami didn't know about it. Which lasted all of ten seconds until Akihito was up and at Sakazaki's neck with his small dagger just over his pulse. Akihito grinned like a mad man.

"Oh, clever, thinking Asami would kill you, quick maybe. Let me tell you, your punishment is gonna be so slow and painful, I promise you. Asami knew about it, I told you I never lied to him" Asami just lit another cigarette.

Akihito kept the dagger to his throat. Slowly he nicked the vein, Sakazaki didn't feel it, Akihito started grinning.

"Oh, that annoying little thing that you forced me to do, I'm glad you enjoyed it as I didn't try very hard, and when I left the club I immediately threw up, it was just so fuckin' gross. I may have been forced to suck an insignificant prick, but once it's memory was erased by Asami, I totally forgot about it. Now, however, oh, how I could make you scream with just my tongue" he taunted, staring straight at Asami.

"Sadly, you will never know how truly fantastic I can be."

Akihito licked his lips to make them shine, which caused Asami to let out a small but feral growl, meaning 'carry on, Kitten, and you'll be spanked for even suggesting such a thing'.

Akihito pushed off of Sakazaki, flashing him a wink as he walked by. "You will get to meet my dragon soon enough, so don't worry, you won't get bored" Sakazaki paled as he watched Akihito return to Asami's side on the couch. "Now, Sakazaki, make Shuu scream in ecstasy if you can."

Shuu jumped up and said "No!" Looking at Asami, he started to pout. "You've kept me here for over two years, if you want to kill me then kill me, I ain't playing your stupid game anymore."

Sakazaki was feeling a little dizzy, and felt something damp on his collar. Touching it with a fingertip, he could see blood. Shocked, he collapsed onto the floor, holding his neck.

"Oh, that's gonna be a couple of days before you bleed out" Akihito spoke nonchalantly, looking at the drops of blood dripping down Suduo's back as he stood up. Asami's eyebrows rose, he hadn't even seen Akihito do anything; such a clever little kitten.

Both Shuu, and Sakazaki seemed shocked that Akihito could do such a thing. Asami just kissed his temple when he sat next to him. Akihito just shugged "You deserve much worse but your voice was so annoying, oh, wait you will get worse."

Akihito shifted his eyes towards Shuu. "Feeling dizzy?" Akihito asked, his voice was cold and harsh.

"Shuu, remember, I hold your life, not Asami. And sweetie, there's a long way to go before your end, as you were the mastermind of all this."

Asami was rubbing Akihito near the small of his back. He let slip a tiny moan which then made him look at Asami with lust in his eyes.

He slipped himself onto Asami's lap, feeling his semi-hard erection. Akihito was also getting harder. Akihito bit his lip, not sure if he really wanted an audience, when Asami kissed him hard, pushing his tongue into Akihito mouth. It was like a shock of electricity between them. Another moan from Akihito made the kiss get even heavier.

Asami eyes opened and looked straight at Shuu, which made him draw back a little, and he just watched, somewhat nauseated with their display. Another moan and they pulled apart, Asami still looking at Shuu. "We still have business, Kitten."

"Mmm" Akihito was ready to fuck. Asami chuckled, his deep rumble was felt through their shirts, vibrating in his chest, and it snapped Akihito up out of his daydream. He slid off Asami's lap, and looked at Shuu.

"Sorry, when he gets like that we tend to forget we have company." Shuu rolled his eyes if he was bored. Asami passed Akihito his drink, the burning down his throat gave him a new sense of purpose.

Akihito walked over to Suduo, moving gracefully, making sure Asami's eyes were on his ass. He slipped his arm over Suduo's shoulder, saying "back to our truth game", while palming his dagger.

"Suoh, could you please phone Feilong and ask him to come collect something for me, he'll know what I mean". Removing his phone from his pocket, he handed it to the huge bodyguard, then turning to look at Sakazaki. "Put him somewhere to forget about later". Suoh blinked, speechless; this young man was cold. Asami was intrigued with this new side of Akihito. Souh bowed, then dragged Sakazaki out of the room.

Akihito looked at Suduo Shuu, his eyes much colder, harder than before. Sudo actually gulped.

"Now, truth: Asami was your idol, your ideal of a man, yes? You wanted his touch, you wanted to feel his desire." Shuu didn't speak, this time Akihito cut Suduo's shoulder. Asami pupils dilated, still Suduo never noticed. Definitely a dumb fake blond. "Shuu answer me" Akihito serenely spoke.

"Yes" he responded with the tone of a spoiled brat. He was cut again on his bicep; still no reaction. Akihito had skill.

"Do you want to know the difference between me and you, what makes powerful men desire me over you?" he whispered in Shuu's ear. "Even Lui Feilong wanted me. Two wealthy, dangerous men wanted a simple photographer with little to offer."

Shuu face paled in fury. "I don't believe you", he gritted out.

"I can get Feilong here, if you like; I know he would like a word with you personally" Shuu looked at Asami, who just shrugged indifferently, as if to say 'Yeah, we both wanted Akihito. Guess who won.'

"Stop looking at Asami to save you, he just here to observe; anyway, back to me. Do you know why two of the most powerful men in all of Asia wanted me? Because I was honest with them and treated them like they weren't worth my time. They chase me, they bow to me, not the other way around." Shuu scoffed at this idea as he was sliced again near the other cuts. Asami smiled, Suduo still hadn't realised.

When Suoh returned, Asami gestured him over. "Souh, I need lemon juice in a glass please, as soon as possible." Asami requested, looking bored.

"Oh, you think I am lying" Akihito laughed. "Mmm, I can understand that, but it's true." Shuu looked at Akihito and sniffed, as if to say 'prove it'.

Asami watched Akihito to see where he was taking this. "Shuu", the smaller male whispered in his ear, slowly nicking several small cuts across his back. "If I prove it, would you think less of Asami; would it make your beliefs about the man crumble? That your faith in Asami was foolish, that Asami would never in a million years take you as a lover because you are worth nothing in this world, that you have no value?"

Asami felt a tinge of guilt as Akihito spoke those words, he remembered that night he spoke the same words to Akihito, even though he knew deep in his heart that Akihito did have value, but he didn't want to admit it at the time.

Akihito glanced over at Asami, and flashed him a grin to say 'it's okay, we're okay. Trust me.'

"No, he would never bow to you. He is the great Asami Ryuichi. No one make Asami do anything he doesn't want to. He commands and we follow." Shuu looking at Asami with pride.

"So why did you think you could get him into bed, why did you think at the time I corrupted him, if he was all great and powerful?" Asami just chuckled, and smiled at Akihito. "Shuu, would you believe that the great and powerful Asami came crawling on his knees to beg me to take him back?"

"No" Shuu was again looking at Asami, with a look in his eyes asking him to say this isn't true. Cut, cut, cut. Droplets of blood were starting to drip on the floor.

"Would you believe that the great and powerful Asami could be so desperate to have me that he was willing to become my uke…" Asami shot a look at Akihito, thinking 'that's one, my cute Akihito.' Akihito returned a toothy grin to Asami.

"See, you lie" Shuu laughed.

" I assure you, Shuu, I am telling the truth; would you like me to demonstrated the power I posses..." Asami murmured in a low rumble 'thats two, Kitten'.

"You have no power" Shuu snorted.

Akihito turned and raised an eyebrow at Asami as he walked over to him "You will kneel before me and tell me that you worship me" gesturing with the knife at Asami.

Asami raised his own eyebrow, and before Suduo Shuu could blink, Asami slipped off the couch and onto his knees, and he placed his hand in Akihito's hand.

"You are the first, and the last person that I have ever loved, and I worship you with everything I have" he said lovingly as kissed his hand.

He looked up at his boy, and gave him a hot little smile. Akihito right there so wanted to jump him; his breath hitched, and Asami knew exactly what he was thinking and smirked. Akihito pulled him up to his feet, as Asami went back to the couch with another smoke in his mouth and Akihito returned back to Shuu.

"See sweetie, I don't lie, cheat or steal, and I am very loyal" Akihito pulled his chin around so Shuu was looking at him, not Asami.

"Again, with one look Asami could see all he needs to see about a person. He thought you were useful. But when he gave you too much rope, you hung yourself. Do you understand now?" Akihito smiled at Shuu and ghosted a kissed on his cheek; he continued to speak softly.

"You never understood that Asami was and always will be mine, that you never stood a chance. But, because you have been lying to me and Asami, we can not be merciful." Asami's face flickered with amusement with what Akihito had in mind.

Akihito stared at Shuu, "You did this, you created this new Akihito. Once upon a time I would have fought for you, thinking Asami was being too cruel, but you set things in motion and that can't be undone; choices were made, your fate was sealed when you lied, deceived and tried to play with the big boys, and you failed. So, I am truly sorry, I can't save you."

A tear fell down Akihito's cheek as he turned his back on Shuu. Akihito left him standing in the room looking pale. Akihito sat next to Asami. Suoh had walked back in and handed the glass of lemon juice to Asami.

"I will let you live, you will leave this house" he felt Asami stiffened slightly. Akihito just squeezed his thigh and continued on "and that will be your punishment"and as Akihito gave him a cold stare, Shuu actually shivered.

"Asami and I are going home, we are going to have the best sex we've ever had, and my personal goal is to try and break the bed," Akihito was now sliding back onto Asami lap, straddling him, his hand running through dark hair as he kissed his neck. "And we will never give you another thought for the rest of our lives." Staring into Asami's eyes with all of his mischief dancing in his own brilliant orbs, he watched as the golden eyes became more hungry with every passing word.

Akihito had to turn to Shuu in an effort to finish his sentence, 'cause both their trousers were straining. Akihito sighed at the words he was going to speak.

"When you leave this place, you are going to become a drug addict, against your will. We will give you to Feilong, who will sell your beautiful body to some ugly men, who will worship you over and over again, for the rest of your pitiful life."

Just as Akihito turned back to kiss Asami, he saw Shuu launch himself to grab him off of Asami, screaming "No!". Akihito was up and off of Asami like a ninja, standing beside a bent over Shuu, one of his arms firmly twisted in a restraint hold at a ninety degree angle from his back.

"How did you…" was all he whimpered before his shoulder was dislocated, and Shuu started screaming. Akihito beamed a bright smile towards Asami, who was seriously turned on now.

"It's a secret."

Asami stood up, and smiled at Akihito. "You, are beautiful. Now, come, let me worship you... koibito." Akihito let go of Suduo and dumped him on the floor. Asami stood and offered Akihito his hand, as soon as Akihito reached for his, Asami pulled him in and kissed him.

They moved past Shuu, who was now sobbing on the floor. Asami tipped the glass in his hand over. As the juice fell onto his bloody cut back and shoulders, a blood curdling scream echoed throughout the house. Asami escorted Akihito out of the building, the only sound heard was Suduo Shuu's screams of agony.

T.B.C.


	13. 13 you will know fear

Chapter 13; your fate was already sealed. Part 2

Akihito looked up at Asami and blinked before they headed over to the limo. "Oh, I forgot something!" Akihito turned to Souh. "Where's Sakazaki?" Asami and Suoh looked at each other, puzzled.

"Follow me, please, he's in there." Suoh pointed Akihito and Asami to a back entrance, after which they entered a small room. Lying in his bloodied shirt was Sakazaki.

Akihito walked over to him. "Did you fix up his wound, Suoh?" he asked as he smiled down at Sakazaki. Asami did not seem amused.

Souh took up his usual position, at ease. "Hai, Takaba-san. Blood loss was minimal." Akihito nodded, looking down at him with distaste; just being this close to him made his skin crawl.

"Feilong's men will collect Sakazaki soon, and then he will be castrated, and have his dick hacked off. They are a disgrace to all men. Then, I want him to eat his own junk, so he'll know just how slimy it feels, having to put his dick and balls into one's mouth." Akihito looked over at Asami.

"Oh yes, my flying dragon knows what to do. He helped me with some ideas. We are going to keep you alive, so understand this: before the end, you will know slowly creeping insanity, you fucking bag of shit." Akihito walked back to Asami, feeling like he may be in need of some immoral support.

Akihito's eyes were shining brightly. "Feilong has decided on using the Chinese water torture method. Victims are strapped down, unable to move, while cold water is slowly dripped onto the forehead as it's a very sensitivite area, with its own nerve bundle. He will see each drop coming; after a long duration, I've heard that people become paranoid, delusional, and are gradually driven frantic. So, while we drive you insane so very slowly, we might as well make some use of you, and take some of your blood to be used as a donation. Someone should benefit from your pitifully excuse of an existence."

Asami's smiled darkly. "Kitten, that's brilliant." He purred.

Sakazaki grunted, his blood loss and dizziness made it difficult to communicate, but there was fear and hatred in his eyes as it sounded like he tried to say something like "whore". Akihito heard this as they were exiting the room, and his pent up anger took over. Blinded with rage, Akihito launched himself towards Sakazaki, grabbing him by his shirt, hauling him up off the floor and slammimg him into the wall, pinning him upright. He pulled out his knife and pushed it up under his chin. Looking deep into Sakazaki eyes, Akihito smiled. Hatred built up inside him. He was disgusted with what this man had done, and had said, he would never forget any of it. Akihito would learn to push it from his mind, but now, now his anger and rage shook Akihito to his very core.

"Keep your fucking mouth shut, you piece of shit, or I'll sew it up permanently." He growled, venom dripping with every word. Akihito's mind was hazy, anger clouding any moral judgement.

He had wanted Feilong to teach him martial arts for defence only, but he had insisted on training him in attack methods as well, and had shown him some techniques in torture. Akihito had not been too happy with that, but Feilong had explained: "If you are trapped and need to escape, maybe a loved one needs you, or information is vital, sometimes, it is unavoidable." He had shown him 'the death by a death by thousand cuts', as it was a simple technique. But Akihito was infuriated with this man who had tried to take everything from him. He dared even to attempt to have Asami killed, and Akihito's mind was starting to swirl, unravelling in madness.

Akihito's morals were bending. What he did and was going to do to Suduo Shuu, he could live with. Well, okay, he wasn't going to kill him, but his life was going to a living hell, like he had tried to make Akihito's on more than one occasion. He had nearly died because of Suduo Shuu, which would have caused Asami pain, so he deserved nothing less.

But Sakazaki was different. He had crawled into Akihito's head, telling him he was Asami's little whore, his fucktoy, his pet, and he had taken what was Asami's. Sometimes his voice whispered in his dreams in the night, and what he had made him do stripped him of his pride as man. He had only been willing to do it for Asami, but Akihito's heart had been heavy, close to breaking; just a simple transgression could have ruined him. Them. 'I need to survive you', he thought to himself, 'you tried to destroy me, but I will not fall apart again'.

Asami had forgiven him, but he wouldn't forget, would he? Akihito was started to tear up. Asami, did he really forgive him, truly? 'And it was all this man's fault I turned into a slut. Or, am I a slut? Does Asami think that, deep down?' Akihito's mind was whirling with negative thoughts. 'It was all this asshole's fault, for everything.'

The knife slowly pushed along his jaw line. Sakazaki's eyes looked into his, saying 'you haven't the guts, you're the one who chose to do what you did.' The dagger inched across his cheek, towards the man's eye.

'Akihito, can you do this?' He had to prove he was stronger, and that he wasn't scared of scum like these wankers. The pain, the rage, his days of despair seemed about to swallow Akihito whole; making him feellike an overexposed photo. Numb, Akihito had started to feel paralyzed.

Asami had been watching with his hawk-like eyes. Every movement Akihito made was concerning him deeply. Yes, he had seen bloodlust in Akihito's eyes, however, in Akihito's core was a strong moral guide, so Akihito making Suduo Shuu into a addict, who would whore himself for drugs, well, it would be a living hell, but he wouldn't be killing him out right, like Shuu had tried to do to him.

Asami watched everything, and could see the internal madness start. Akihito had never forgave himself for that transgression with Sakazaki. Yes, it had stung his pride, but it didn't really bother Asami, he had understood why Akihito did it, but he knew it still hurt his boy too.

Maybe Akihito needed to do this. Asami didn't want Akihito anywhere near the darkness of taking a life, so he watch intently.

He would pull him back from the brink, if he looked like he was going to cross a line he couldn't come back from. Asami and Feilong had no compunctions, things in their world needed to be done, examples needed to be made. Asami had planned a slow, tortuous death for Sakazaki, but Akihito wouldn't have been a part of it.

No, he wanted to keep Akihito out of the darkness, keeping his inner light shinning, so that he could come home and bath in it, wash the grime of his transgressions of the day away, be forgiven and loved by Akihito, no matter what. Today, Akihito's pain and rage needed an outlet, so he would watch, and let Akihito do whatever damage he needed to do. Now, Sakazaki was his.

Akihito slowly brought his blade closer to Sakazaki's eye. He didn't want him to see his eyes lusting after him any more. 'No', Akihito decided 'I'll take his eyes and leave the rest to my beloved dragons', but his eyes, his eyes we're his. The tip of the blade was as sharp as a scalpel. Akihito nicked Sakazaki's cornea, deep enough to puncture the eyeball. Slowly, he jiggled the blade enough to widen the tear. As the blade was pulled out of the eye, vitreous fluid leaked out of the eyeball and trickled down his face as the eyeball itself deflated slightly.

Sakazaki had watch as the blade tip come closer and closer to his eye. He didn't believe Akihito had it in him, so he just stared at him, trying to intimidate him, but Akihito's eyes were ice cold, dead, like a shark's. Either there weren't any emotions left, or too many emotions overwhelmed him, so he couldn't think straight. Sakazaki started to shake, trying to turn his head away. Akihito grabbed his hair painfully in his fist, making him look right at him. Akihito spat at him, just as his blade bit into his other cornea; then Akihito removed the knife blade.

Sakazaki would see the blade come in, felt the pressure build on one spot of his eyeball before it was punctured, felt it wiggle inside, then felt a small "pop" as the eye tissue lost suction around the blade as it was pulled out, not to mention the slight pull on the eyeball itself and the attached optic nerve as the blade slid out.

What he felt then was BLINDING PAIN. The first sensation was an intense, burning ache in my eye, the kind of intensity he could almost see, but his vision was uneven and splotchy, like looking through wadded up cellophane. Blinking at the pain, it went from excruciating to mind shattering.

Sakazaki could FEEL the surface of his eyeball rubbing loose against the inside of his eyelid, and started screaming at this point, trying to get away from the knife that had crossed over to his other eye, and had finished ripping his other cornea the rest of the way. The pain was so strong, it made Sakazaki vomit as he collapsed to the floor.

He didn't black out, but he was huddled at Akihito's feet in a heap.

The pain was so unique. No matter what he did, no matter how he moved, the pain stayed with him. It was razor sharp. One of the first things Sakazaki realized was that any pressure against his eye, any movement of his eyelid would cause the pain to go from a '10' to a 'FuckYou'. Motion of any kind was nauseating. Sakazaki tried to close his left eye and see with his right, but the pressure from the clenched eyelid alone was enough to make him scream and vomit again.

Akihito was standing to the side when he punctured Sakazaki's eyeballs; he'd screamed as if a wild animal had a limb caught in a metal-toothed trap, and fell to the floor. Akihito stepped away as Sakazaki vomited due to the intense pain. Sakazaki was going into shock, and moaned.

When Asami's hand grabbed Akihito's arm, he turned slowly to stare at up Asami. Akihito was shedding tears, even though he had a slight smile on his face. Asami squeezed his hand that held the knife. Asami whispered to Akihito and slowly Akihito seemed to waken from his trance. He dropped the knife, and turned into Asami's arms, who moved him away from Sakazaki. Asami gave Sakazaki a wolfish grin over his shoulder, to let him know this just the start for him. Sakazaki was too far gone to see Asami's feral grin, but he knew this was only the beginning.

When Asami brought Akihito out the building, he had left Suoh behind for a while, to relay to the remaining guards his orders to fix Sakazaki up, keep him alive, and about what to do until the Chinese group arrived; after he talked to Feilong about altering his plans slightly. Sakazaki was treated, but Akihito had done a fair amount of damage. As it was, patience was a virtue. It would take three months before Sakazaki could open his eyes and see fairly clearly again, but it would still be a painful recovery. Sakazaki would curse Akihito daily, but he knew Asami and Feilong were coming for him, and in the end, he was going to end up driven out of his mind.

Feilong had left an open invitation to Asami's underworld security team, that when the time was right, whomever wanted to have some payback for what Sakazaki had done to their boss and his lover, they were more than welcomed to have at it, as long as he remained alive, and relatively whole. Asami was just itching to carve into him. Not just for nearly destroying Sion. Not just for his damaged reputation, both personal and business. But because his beloved had come out of this experience stronger, but oh so brittle. Asami would snarl at the recollection of Akihito's rage, nearly losing himself to the madness. Therefore, Sakazaki was going to suffer for the trauma he put his shining light through.

Asami, Suoh and Kei showed up together, and quite a few of the senior security guards from back when Akihito and Asami first became 'aquatinted', that liked Akihito, and had witnessed some of the agony he was still going through, decided that for him, they would take the burden from his shoulders, and get payback.

By the end of the first week, they had all made their contribution: some of them had taken turns beating Sakazaki bare-handed, while others had used bamboo canes on the bare soles of his feet. A few decided to polish up their knife skills, carving "slut", "whore" and other pet names into various parts of Sakazaki's body.

They would let him rest. when his body was as good as healed.

Then, the second faze, specialists took the torture up a notch, consisting almost entirely of crushing devices and procedures, including exceptionally clever screw presses or "bone vises" that crushed thumbs, toes, knuckles, knees, and even broke teeth in a wide variety of ways. An array of "boot" devices that were variously and ingeniously designed to slowly crush bones in the feet were equally well represented.

Again Sakazaki was left to heal, Now Sakazaki was now begging for death. but it would not come. Revenge is best served cold. I mean very cold.

Finally, Asami was ready to take his turn, as he savagely mutilated the body in numerous dreadful ways, incorporating spikes, blades, boiling oil, and extremely careful applications of fire. The serrated iron tongue shredder, and the stocks that forcibly held the prisoner's naked feet, glistening with lard, directly over red-hot coals until the skin, tendons and foot muscles were burnt away, and the exposed bones dried out and turned to ash.

Nearly dead when he had finished, Asami, Kei and Suoh had stood apart, ignoring this human being, (if one could call him that), now broken into pieces on the floor, talking casually amongst themselves, and smoking. But, it was far too soon for Sakazaki to die, so the medical people who worked for Sion mended him, keeping him alive, only to find that after ten more months of hell, recuperating, his final end was near: a trip to Hong Kong, a personal welcome from the leader of Baishe, and finally, the water torture.

Feilong opened the door to the room specifically designed for the torment it contained within. He entered, letting his tall, lean frame sway gracefully, giving his "guest" a wintry smile as he looked down at silenced and immobilized Sakazaki.

Feilong spoke, his voice so delicate it would charm birds from the trees. "I am here for one reason only", he said, as he put his hand up to caress the valve above his victim's head.

"I am here on Akihito's behalf. I wanted to do something to you that would represented Akihito's mental anguish over the three years he was away from Asami, his home, his family and friends." Opening the valve started the water dripping, a single drop falling, every minute, or so.

"So this is Akihito's goodbye." Feilong turned away from the helpless body with a slight flaring of his sumptuous cheongsam, he left the room, and closed the door with heavy finality.

Feilong knew this method well, it was simplistic and the results were always the same. Before the end, Sakazaki would know hopelessness and madness himself.

Feilong's and Asami's need to avenge the boy they both loved and protected was satisfied. It was finally over.


	14. 14 finally it's over

Restart my life.

Chapter 14: something beautiful past you by.

Suduo Shuu was finished. Sakazaki was going to be in a world of hurt soon enough.

Asami was concerned when Akihito lost it back there he was cold he had no empathy. Asami liked both warm and cold. But Asami knewAkihito but he inside would never want Akihito stain his hand with blood. No that was his duty to Akihito.

Flicking his cigarette away. Asami turned to look at Akihito leaning by the limo, Asami could feel that this period of his life over. Asami and Akihito won't look back . Its finished.

Asami priority now was Akihito and him to move forward.

Akihito moved his body to more comfortable postion to gaze upon Asami as he leant on the limo, to speak to him.

"I didn't want to do that. I don't want to torture or kill, but they messed with me, and my family, so they have to pay." He looked up into Asami's face to see what he thought seeking permission for some unknown reason.

Asami moved closer to Akihito, he lightly stroked Akihito cheek. Akihito instantly blushed, Asami smiled lent down and kissed his cheek. then he looked into Akihito shinning eyes;

"you did good my little koibito" Akihito was gonna pull away from Akihito but he stayed and glared at Asami,

"don't call me...oh forget it you perverted bastard koibito" Akihito grinned.

Asami relexed Akihito was back, he always did bounce back, he amazed Asami at times thing that would break normal men, Akihito shrugged it off eventually, this time will be no different. he need to stay this way, selfishness for himself but Akihito needed to be good. snaking his arms around Akihito into a passionate kiss, feeling Akihito melt into him, it never enough.

When Asami and Akihito entered the limo, Asami lit his cigarette, and they both sat quietly, relaxing.

Neither spoke, as they both understood that if either one broke the silence, there would be loud limo sex taking place. Akihito was thinking about that long drive back to the city...

Asami was just finishing cigarette, when Akihito used the intercom.

"Suoh, I apologize for what's about to go down back here. You may want to turn up the music really loud; and just leave us when we get to the penthouse garage. To be honest, you may as well take the rest of the day off." Akihito turned to Asami, looked him up and down, twitched his eyebrow and bit his bottom lip.

"And tell Kirishima that Asami will be tied up at the penthouse for the next forty-eight hours or so."

Then the intercom was disabled and the privacy screen rose to the sound of Suoh's snickers from the front seat. Asami had an amused look on his face, and raised an eyebrow at his boy. "Forty-eight hours, my very cute Akihito?" he purred into the space between them.

Akihito gave him a cocky grin back and shrugged. "Well, you are older; and it has been a while. Might be rusty."

"And that makes three, and four, Akihito." Asami chuckled with a predatory smile.

"Four hours in your secret room will be worth it." He hesitated, and tilted his head as he looked at Asami, hitched his breath and spoke again. "In for a penny, in for a pound."

Asami laughed loudly, and before he could blink, Akihito was lying back against the seat with his hands pinned above his head, and he was being kissed, deep and long. When they pulled apart to catch their breath, Asami started kissing Akihito down his neck. In between nips and kisses Asami spoke, his low deep voice vibrating every bone in Akihito's body.

"You were inventive, koibito."

Akihito lazily shrugged with a closed-eye smile. "Yeah, I was pretty amazing, wasn't I."

Asami raised his head and looked at Akihito, those eyes peeking out from partially opened lids full of mischief and mayhem, shinning so bright. Asami took in his Akihito, completely lost in his eyes. He thought he could see a galaxy of stars reflected in those sparkling blue orbs. Asami said breathlessly: "Marry me."

Akihito blinked, not sure he had actually heard what he thought he had. Asami kissed Akihito deeply, as if he couldn't breath without him. He pulled back, and Akihito was panting and staring at him in a daze. Asami said it again.

"Marry me, my cute Akihito." Akihito pulled his arms out of Asami's grasp, moved them down to his sides and raised himself up on his elbows, still blinking, looking into Asami's eyes. They were

smouldering with all of his emotions: love, desire, lust, honesty, and above all, trust.

Asami kissed the sweet spot where his neck met his shoulder, then spoke onto Akihito's neck, as Akihito shivered: "Marry me, Akihito." Akihito's eyes started to fill up, tears overflowing down his face. Asami wiped his cheeks with gentle caresses of his thumbs, kissing each closed eyelid. "Marry me" he whispered, as he started kissing down Akihito's neck. He unbuttoned most of Akihito's shirt, as he started grazing his collarbone Asami whispered again "marry", kiss, "me". Slowly his mouth was heading towards those fresh pink perky nipples, and he licked and twisted them both. Within seconds they pebbled. Biting down on the nearest one, he murmured "Marry me."

Breathless moans filled the back of the limo. Akihito's head went back, as Asami's tongue made its way down Akihito's silky, firm curved torso, while Asami fingers twiddled his nipples. These dual sensations pulled forth more moans that filled the air. Akihito's erection started poking Asami, who chuckled, ignoring the bulge in his own pants. Asami worked his way slowly back toward Akihito's collarbone, nipping at it lightly. Moving onto his neck, Asami whispered into Akihito's ear: "Mary me, koibito."

Akihito was stunned, but managed to push Asami back into a sitting position. Akihito straddled him, he was now aware of Asami's growing 'interest'. Akihito stared wordlessly into Asami's golden eyes. "Marry me, Akihito" Asami clasped Akihito's face, wiping away more tears. "Marry. Me." Asami started kissing him again, a slow, sensual kiss. Akihito ground his hard on into Asami, letting another moan escaping from his lips.

"Your body is saying yes, but I would like to actually hear you say it."

Akihito caught his breath, he knew that Asami never said anything he didn't mean. Was he ready; well yeah, he was ready, Asami had changed for him. 'I have already given my life to Asami, so…'

In a firm voice, Asami said: "Akihito."

Akihito was pulled out of his train of thought. Asami smiled, smoothly ghosting a whisper over Akihito's lips: "Marry me."

With an almost inaudible whisper, he responded with a choked "Yes".

Asami smiled. "Just a little louder please, so us humans can hear." Grabbing Asami's hair with both hands, he tugged hard. Asami let out a hiss of pleasure.

Akihito nipped Asami's earlobe, and whispered "Yes, Ryuichi, I will marry you." Asami grinned from ear to ear, and that was it. Within moments, Akihito was naked and screaming his name as they rocked the limo.

When they finally reached the elevator to the penthouse, Asami was holding Akihito's hand. The elevator took its sweet time to arrive at their floor, the silence of the small cage was palatable. They couldn't look at each other. Sexual tension hung in the air, the slightest sound, and they would be ripping each other's clothes off. When the doors finally pinged opened, Akihito was out, down the hallway, with keys in hand to open the penthouse door, taking his shoes off. Asami smirked as he watch Akihito open the door, then he slammed shut the door behind himself, never taking his eyes off Akihito since they left the elevator.

Akihito stood looking at Asami with a feral glee in his eyes; they both stood motionless in the hallway, just breathing, waiting for the first person to blink.

Asami stepped forward, Akihito stepped back. Then another step forward, met by another step back. When Akihito sensed Asami's confusion, he sprang forward. With a leap, he wrapped his long legs around Asami's waist, and his arms around his neck. Asami grabbed Akihito's ass with both hands. With a turn he pressed Akihito hard against the nearest wall, kissing him feverishly. A muffled moan came from both parties. Asami pulled away, his golden eyes holding so much promise. Akihito panted, "Say it again, Ryuichi."

A small, gratified chuckle left Asami.

"Marry me, Akihito" breathlessly Asami repeated. Akihito tilted his head forward and started kissing Asami's jaw line. "Mmm, that's what I thought you said" he sighed, kissing further down Asami's neck.

"Akihito... Akihito." Asami quietly demanded "Say it again", their eyes locked on each other, reflecting each other's desire, like a pool they were both drowning in.

"Yes, Asami Ryuichi, I will marry you." Both started giggling into each other's kisses.

Asami turned, walking towards the bedroom. He pulled away from their kiss. Akihito could see a twinkle in his eye. His voice low and husky, Asami queried: "Shall we see if we can break the bed?"

Akihito raised his eyebrow, smiling as he titled his head in thought. "Well, Ryuichi, how about we break all the furniture in the condo and then just redecorate?" he suggested, shrugging nonchalantly.

Asami look delighted. "You are just full of bright ideas today, Kitten." Asami chuckled as he kicked the bedroom door closed behind them.


	15. 15 feather's and vows

Restart my life.

chapter 15 :Feathers and vows...

Akihito was in the kitchen, listening to his music, swaying his hips in that familiar pink frilly apron, making breakfast. Asami was out of the shower, wearing just his silk trousers. He walked through the living room, thinking it looked like a typhoon had hit the place. Nearly everything was broken, the couch was resting upside down, and the telly was hanging off the wall. 'Hmm, we really did demolish the place', Asami mused, feeling quite pleased.

When he reached the kitchen, he could hear the familiar sounds of Akihito being busy. Asami took a minute, resting against the doorframe with his arms across his broad chest, in awe of the sight in front of him. The three years of hell was over: his kitten was home. With complete understanding of what he meant to Asami, no one, including himself, will ever make him feel inferior again.

A sad memory flashed across his eyes, and soon disappeared. As his golden gaze wandered down that supple, sensual body, Asami's mind stop working as he just watched a very sexy arse jiggling to the beat of the music. Akihito turned to put the plates on the island and jumped. Asami was standing in the doorway, looking very amused. "We'll have to eat in here, the dining table's broken" he explained, and gave a sheepish smile; his blush a beautiful shade of pink.

Asami watched as he put the plates down. Within seconds, he had wrapped his arm around his boy's waist. After a kiss so deep, Akihito let a moan escape. Asami seemed even more pleased with himself than before, and let him go. Placing a chaste kiss on Akihito's forehead, he went to sit down. They sat in quiet contentment as they enjoyed breakfast, every now and again stealing a glance at each other.

Akihito's blush was getting worse, as his mind recalled the last forty-some hours. Asami reached for Akihito, and pulled him onto his lap. "Are you feeling alright today? Is your back okay?" Akihito just nodded.

"That warm bath helped this morning. Thank you." Asami chuckled.

There was a rap on the penthouse door. Akihito was up and out of the kitchen like a shot. "It's Kirishima" he said as he returned to the island to finish breakfast in his own seat.

"Asami Sama, here is the morning paper, everything has been quiet over the last 48 hours." Asami just nodded as he picked up his coffee cup. Kirishima's attention turned to Akihito. "I took the liberty of contacting the university, stating you had tonsillitis, as I thought you might be otherwise engaged." Asami chuckled while Akihito frowned as his face changed to a new shade of red in the colour spectrum.

Kirishima coughed. "I just meant, Takaba-sama, that you have been busy over the last few days and you are now free to enjoy a few more days and relax." Kirishima was blushing at the comment; Asami was too amused until he felt a sudden sharp pain to his shin.

"Kirishima, I need to get the decorators in to reorganise the penthouse. Akihito will be redecorating." Asami glanced over at Akihito, thinking 'any longer, and his face was going to stay that red permanently.' "You can make a list of what's all broken, and what needs replacing. The master bed frame definitely needs replacing, and a strongly worded letter needs to be sent to the manufacturer, asking why it was not up to a decent standard."

Kirishima just gulped. "Yes, Asami-sam."

Akihito may have changed a lot in the past three years, becoming bolder and stronger, but he was also the same shy, embarrassed boy Asami adored. He looked like he was contemplating popping a blood vessel right then.

"I'll be taking the BMW out today as we are going shopping. Akihito and I will be going to get engagement rings, or see about designing our own wedding bands. Therefore, I will not be in the office again today or tomorrow. I will be staying with Akihito at his university accommodations while our penthouse is being refurbished."

Kirishima smiled broadly at them both. Asami moved quickly to stand behind Akihito, hands on his shoulders. He could tell Akihito was just about to bolt, some things never changed. His only apparel being the apron notwithstanding, the yakuza wasn't chancing him running out the penthouse. Asami just gripped his shoulders, rubbing gently with his thumbs to keep him in place. Leaning down, he kissed his cheek.

"Congratulations Takaba-sama, Asami-sama. About bloody time." He reached over and shook their hands, pleased.

"Thank you" whispered a barely audible Akihito. Asami grinned and nodded. Kirishima left.

As he let Akihito go, the boy started to clear the plates away. Asami snaked his arm around his blond's waist, and held him close. Akihito leaned back with his head on Asami's shoulder; they stood like that for a few minutes. Sensing something was the matter, Asami cooed into Akihito's ear: "Akihito, what is it?"

Akihito breathed slowly, and relaxed further into the embrace. "I... I just wasn't too sure if you meant what you'd said, or if it was just something in the heat of the moment. So, I was thinking you might be, I do not know, regretting your decision."

"Do you regret your decision, Akihito?" Still feeling unsure, Akihito shook his head from side to side, indicating no. Asami furrowed his brow, thinking of the right words to say. "Good. I can understand you thinking it was a spur of the moment thing. However, that is far from the truth. I know it was not as romantic as I would have planned. Nevertheless, Akihito, right there, in that moment, my whole world opened up for me inside your eyes, and all I could see was you. Forever. With me. Only you have ever tossed my heart around this much. And you still have that effect on me."

Feeling relieved, Akihito didn't bother to answer. Instead, he twisted around in Asami's hold, so he could look up at him. Then Akihito manoeuvred himself up as he wrapped his legs around Asami's waist. Asami, by reflex, grabbed Akihito's ass to secure him as he walked over to the counter top and popped him down on the cool granite surface.

Finding his voice, Akihito said quietly "No, Ryuichi, I haven't changed my mind." Asami let out a slow breath. Akihito smiled, and then kissed him softly.

Asami lifted Akihito off the counter top and walked back towards the bedroom. With a confused look on Akihito's face, Asami just smiled. "Trust me, okay Kitten." Still bewildered, Akihito nodded.

Once in the bedroom, Asami released his hold on Akihito. "Go sit on the bed while I go get something." Releasing his hold on Asami, he hopped into the centre of the bed, well, what was left of the mattress, sunken down into the broken bed frame, with the bedding strewn around all over the place.

Asami walked towards the secret room, looking back at his Akihito, who was playing with some of the feathers from one of the pillows that had been ripped open last night. He chuckled and walked over to the door release.

Hearing the sound of the secret door opening, Akihito shouted "Don't even think about it, buddy. You had me for nearly 48 hours. I would like some rest now." All he heard through the doorway was a drawer being shut and a deep rumble of laughter. Asami walked back into the bedroom. Akihito gave him a suspicious look as Asami closed the door.

Asami knelt down by the side of the bed. "Close your eyes, Akihito" he said, as his lips curled slightly. "My very cute Akihito, closes your eyes" he repeated. Akihito slowly closed his eyes, wriggling a little bit in anticipation. Then, he popped one eye open and glared at Asami.

"What are you up to…"

Asami sighed. "Just keep them shut, okay." Akihito complied.

Clink. As soon as he felt the cold metal around his wrist his eyes were wide open. "What the fuck is this! I knew you were up to no good" and pouted as he shook the metal cuff, now attached to Asami's wrist.

Asami kissed Akihito and sat back down. "It's not what you think, Akihito. It's a representation of what I am asking you to do. I want to be chained to you, and never let you ever go." Akihito still pouted. "Look, here is the key" which he placed in Akihito's palm.

Akihito looked wide-eyed at Asami, not understanding. With a sultry voice, Asami continued. "You can unlock the cuffs whenever you choose to, and go. But I hope that you never do." Then he gently stroked Akihito's cheek. "I hope that you feel the same way."

'Fucking hell, Asami! When did you get all cute and cuddly? Where's your "I will to slice your skin off your bones if you so much as just touch my sleeve" act gone?' Akihito shouted inside his head.

Akihito's blush reappeared as he started biting his bottom lip, wondering what to do. He really liked this romantic side, which was probably going to kill him sooner than that 'death' aura of his. And he wanted to be with Asami. He decided to come to terms with everything that had changed as he really didn't want to waste anymore time.

"...Akihito..." Asami spoke, breaking his train of thought. Looking at Akihito, who actually hadn't spoken for a few minutes, with a softer tone he said "Akihito... close your eyes again please, and hold your other hand out this time". Akihito slipped the key into his apron pocket, then held out his hand, closing his eyes again.

"If you put your dick in my hand, I'll dig my nails in so hard you'll…" Asami shut him up quickly with a forceful kiss. When Akihito moaned, he felt something placed into his hand. Pulling back, Asami chuckled at Akihito's previous statement.

Akihito opened one eye, looked at his hand, then opened both eyes. Nestled on his hand was a small hinged velvet box. He gave Asami a sceptical look as he reached over and open the box. Inside, side by side, were two similar rings. Akihito looked like a deer caught in head lights: "When, how, why… huh?"

Asami lifted his lover's chin and looked into his eyes. "Why? Because it's always been you and no one else can even come close. You make everyday a challenge, and I love your fighting spirit. You are amazing." Akihito's cheeks blushed a deeper pink while he listened. "How? I went to a jeweller."

Akihito rolled his eyes. "Funny. You're a funny guy, Ryuichi."

Asami smiled. "When? While we were on the island."

Akihito's eyes flew wider open, staring at him, and breathed out "After Hong Kong…?"

Asami nodded. "I was ready to share my life with you there and then, but I was a coward. I kept on telling myself YOU weren't ready. You never gave me clue that you felt the same way. Then Suduo took you. After that fiasco you seem to change, but then the penthouse was attacked, and there seemed no time to ask." With a sad look on his handsome face, Asami continued. "I'd finally decided the night of the charity ball I'd ask you that weekend, but then everything went to hell for three years. Until, finally…" leaning in to kiss Akihito's hot red cheek. "you came back to me. I promised myself if I ever got a second chance, I wouldn't hesitate."

Smiling at Akihito, he continued. "This is not a whim. I love and adore you; this has been a long time coming. So, Takaba Akihito: will you marry me? " He gently pulled Akihito's head forward so their foreheads rested against each other, and whispered "You are my everything."

Asami, with the chained hand, picked up Akihito's ring, and held it up for him to see it. It was a simple, classic white gold band. Channel cut into the band was a row of five square cut intense yellow diamonds, the same golden shade as Asami's eyes. Seeing Akihito was speechless, he offered him the ring, murmuring "read the inscription". Akihito swallowed as he read "You are MINE. I am YOURS. Ryuichi". Then he slipped it onto Akihito's ring finger. "Marry me, Takaba Akihito."

Asami lifted up his ring and handed it to Akihito. It was the same design, except the jewels were peacock blue diamonds, resembling Akihito's eyes. It was similarly engraved with "You are MINE. I am YOURS. Akihito". Taking a deep breath, Akihito carefully rubbed the smooth side of the ring, his blush reaching up to his ears. He bit his lip, and exhaling slowly, he slipped the ring onto Asami's ring finger, then smiled.

"I will marry you, Asami Ryuichi." Before the last syllable was spoken, Akihito's back bounced against the mattress, feathers flying everywhere as Akihito thumped against the mattress again.

As it rained down feathers, Asami kissed him slowly and sensually, pouring everything he had into Akihito. Their chained hands were clasped above Akihito's head; as Asami started to lick Akihito's neck, he spoke in his deep baritone voice that reverberated throughout Akihito, making his spine shiver. "Should we stay cuffed while we pick up from last night, Kitten, because I am happy with all options."

Asami was too amused with himself. Right then, Akihito bit Asami's lip. That's all it took.

While catching their breath, Asami kissed Akihito's temple. "I have only ever wanted you in my life. You are my light, Akihito. Sometimes, I just can't control myself, as I am addicted to you. From the way you touch me, you can command me at such a deep level, that I have to have you. I love you, you are perfect, a manifestation of my dreams. You make me feel about a million different things all at once. I think God made you just for me. A perfect mixture of passion and fidelity, you complete me. You will always be my lust, and my love."

Akihito lay there looking into those golden eyes, so warm, with a flicker of passion. Akihito felt his eyes start to well up. Asami had done it again: he stole all the air from the room. Time stood still as they gazed at each other; when Asami touched his cheek, Akihito beamed and whispered "You are my everything, and everything is you... (愛してる) ai shiteru."

As Asami went to kiss him again, Akihito stopped him. "Wait...argh". Akihito growled as his jumped up and nearly pulled his shoulder out of its socket, forgetting he was still cuffed to Asami. Twisting his body to reach the bottom shelf of the chest chest of drawers, which had miraculously remained unbroken, he pulled his Polaroid camera out. Bouncing back onto the bed sent feathers up everywhere again. He kissed Asami and clicked. Then, as Asami pushed him onto his back and looked adoringly down at Akihito, click went the camera again.

Two perfect pictures of them, with feathers floating down in the air around them. They made their vows on that broken bed, covered in feathers. It was as romantic as either of them could have imagined.

"Akihito" Asami whispered in a slow drawl, "even though it was actually very interesting making love to you while being cuffed to each other…" he paused to nip his ear.

"Mmmh" Akihito responded, wanting to close his eyes.

"Kitten... where's the key?" Akihito's eyes were wide open now. "It's in the apron pocket which got thrown... uh, I'm not sure where!" Looking around the bed, he just smiled. "Maybe we can just stay like this…?"

"While that is a very tempting offer, Akihito, I do think we need a bath." Asami stood up, scooping Akihito up in his arms, with all the feathers that were now stuck everywhere. Akihito held onto his neck as he strolled into bathroom.

As they sat in a warm bath, here and there feathers floated on the water. After silently pondering, Akihito asked "Ryuichi? Why do we have to have a ceremony?" Asami kissed Akihito's nape. "Our friends and family would like to celebrate with us, and you can have a wicked reception."

Asami continued as his teeth grazed smoothly over Akihito's shoulder. "We will work at your pace; whenever you are ready to tell everyone, it's fina." Akihito bit his lip, and stared at the cuffs.

"Before I change my mind, then, the sooner the better. I'll leave it up all up to you." He turned to look at Asami, then straddled him in the water. Automatically, Asami moved his arm around Akihito's waist to stablize him. "However, I want it small, intimate and nothing, I mean NOTHING, too fancy" he demanded as he poked Asami's chest.

"That can be arranged, my koibito. How's next week?" Akihito narrowed his eyes at Asami.

"That's bloody quick" he growled, with a suspicious tone.

Asami's laugh echoed around the bathroom. "I've been planning this forever" he smiled, starting to kiss the blond's collarbone; well, kissing between the marks that were already there.

"Question", Akihito stated, his tone serious, which made Asami's eyebrows rise. "How exactly are we getting out this bath?" Akihito asked, looking a little befuddled. That was it. Asami was laughing again, a deep, proper laugh; he was just so happy.

After the bath, towels around their waists, Asami just pulled Akihito towards kitchen. "Hey, Ryuichi, we need to get dressed." Akihito looking confused as the older man shook the cuffs.

"I haven't forgotten; I thought we could stay like this longer, but the 'getting dressed' part would be kind of tricky" he said, after pulling Akihito into a passionate kiss. When the moan came low from Akihito's throat, he pulled away and looked at his flushed fiancé.

While Akihito was dazed from the kiss, he got pulled into the kitchen. Asami looked through the drawers until he found the tool box with the metal cutters. Looking at Akihito, he grinned and asked "Are you sure about this? I'd be happy to stay like this forever..."

Akihito growled and wiggled his ring finger, saying "I bet you would. Isn't that what this represents?" and with a snip he cut the chain that linked them together.

"Why are you smirking?" Akihito pointed a finger at Asami board chest. "Just be glad you understand what that ring represents."

"Are you happy?" he murmured, the finger meant to poke Akihito's chest turning into a light graze over his nipple.

"Arghhhh, you are unbelievable! It doesn't represent me being naked here all the time." As Akihito walked out the kitchen, Asami smacked his arse. "Yes, I am happy, you perverted bastard."

Asami muttered under his breath "Oh, but it so does fucking mean you naked here all day" making sure that Akihito couldn't hear him.

Akihito was in the bedroom with a goofy grin plastered on his face, knowing that it did indeed represent him being naked most of the day. He looked around the bedroom and thought, "Oh shit! Look at this mess!", and picked up the photos he took, smiling. Seeing that they were spur of the moment, they were perfect and surprisingly in frame, focused and beautiful. The way Asami looked at him was quite sexy. Lately, he had been feeling rather sexy himself, but seeing it in pictures was breathtaking.

Then it hit him: it was the first time he had picked up a camera in three long years, not to take photos of historical subjects, or nature shots. But of what was happening in real time.

Asami came into the room a few minutes later, leaning against the bedroom doorframe, watching as Akihito's smiling face slowly faded to sadness, then tears. Quickly he hugged Akihito from behind. "What's the matter?" he asked, turning Akihito so they faced each other. "Tell me" came out a bit more stern than he'd have liked. But his Akihito had tears spilling down his cheeks, and was shaking. "Tell me, Akihito; even if it's bad we, can work it out. Just speak."

As Asami wiped away the tears, Akihito explained the realisation of using the camera. Asami squeezed Akihito gently, kissed his head and said carefully "Maybe, Akihito you are healed. After everything that has happen between us, it could be the last piece needed to fix your heart: knowing that I was faithful, and always will be faithful to you. For eternity."

Akihito looked into those amber eyes filled with warmth. With a wry smile, he whispered "Then, I'm healed."

"Yes you are now, and nothing can break you ever again." With that, Akihito just beamed his toothy grin, which could light up Tokyo. Asami smiled, and squeezed him again. "You're cold, go get dressed." Akihito passed the photos to Asami, and started looking for his clothes.

Asami looked at the photos, admiring how erotic together they looked. The look on Akihito's face, knowing now that their future was them, together, and nobody was taking that away from him; not now, not ever again. Then an idea popped in Asami head. "We should get ready and go, and let Kirishima in here to assess the penthouse. And get a cleaner to sort the bedroom" he chuckled.

"Where's Asami, and what did you do with him?" Akihito asked, surprised he even suggested staying at the university.

"It's actually comfortable at your place, and it shouldn't give you any additional stress" Asami shrugged.

Akihito bit his lip, thinking. "Ok, but the walls aren't soundproof, so no sex. I need a rest, I think 48 hours nonstop should be enough." Then he hesitated. "Also, after last time, there were some e-mailed complaints…" Bursting out laughing, Asami walked to stand next to Akihito, tapping his hands off his shirt buttons.

"I shall partially comply with your request." Asami started buttoning Akihito's shirt. "We all know, how Akihito gets, when he really wants something." Lips curling into a sly smile as he finished the last button, he smoothed the collar down. "I promise not to have sex with you, unless you demand it. But in exchange, I would like some photographs of you and I together, dressed in whatever I decide." Tilting Akihito's chin up as he looked at him, Asami kissed him on the nose.

"Seriously... wait." Looking at each other with amused eyes, the blond continued. "Conditions: no bondage shots, nothing with sex or toys." Now a smug Asami looked back to the buttons on his own shirt, after noticing some of his marks ran up towards the back of Akihito's ear, which made his smile widen.

"You're getting better at negotiations, Kitten." Akihito rolled his eyes and moved away, when a hand grabbed his still cuffed wrist, and pulled him close, tilting his chin up and ghosting a kiss on his lips. "Well, do we have a deal?"

Akihito paused, unsure. "Okay" Akihito finally assented and shrugged. Asami was now grinning like the cat that ate the canary.

Akihito groaned. "Why do I suddenly regret this decision?"

Asami kissed him and murmured "Suspicious, much? I want them done before our wedding. Let's go." Akihito cheek turned a deep red to the word wedding. Asami made the word sound so easy, like breathing; something so natural.

Asami just hummed at the colour of Akihito cheeks. 'I will never get tired of that look' he mused to himself. Akihito just smiled. Asami leaned in and gave Akihito a kiss. "Now, let's go or Kirishima will kill us." Asami chuckled, grabbing Akihito's hand to pull him out of his own thoughts. Akihito blushed again, noticing Asami hadn't taken off his cuff, either.

Thereafter, Kirishima was busy redecorating the penthouse. All decisions Asami left up to Akihito. Asami decided to work from Akihito's home, which worried Akihito slightly, but he really did enjoy their quality time together. Asami kept his word: they eat dinner together, and watched a movie. Asami got up first, leaving a contented Akihito asleep.

When Akihito finally got up, Akihito padded towards the couch yawning. Thinking he should do some of his work while he had a few extra days off, Akihito settled down.

Asami was in the kitchen, humming, making them coffee. A humming Asami, that was new. He was a little behind on his work, so crossing his legs, and opened his laptop. Accessing the university students' portal, Akihito slipped back into work mode. After a few clicks on the keyboard, his eyes glanced to his wrist. Since Asami asked him to marry him, he had not taken the cuff off. His ring glimmered in the light, feeling both light and heavy at the same time.

Akihito was engrossed in his work, he was not aware when Asami re-entered the room and sat down beside him. Drinking his coffee, he watched as the TV was playing the financial business channel; Akihito was definitely not interested. As his attention went back to his laptop, he assumed Asami was busy watching the TV when Asami's hand gently settled on his leg, and started rubbing Akihito's thigh.

Akihito just glanced across at Asami, who was pretending not to be doing anything. Maybe it was a subconscious act, so he just let him do that; besides, Asami had promised he wouldn't try anything.

A few minutes later, out of the corner of Akihito eye, he saw Asami's eyes raking over his body. Asami's hand never ceased, continuing to rub further up Akihito's thigh.

Then Asami's hand slipped underneath Akihito's shirt, towards his lower back. Akihito arched his back away from the sensation of his warm fingers and the feel of cool metal. Akihito realised Asami had not removed his cuff either, making him blush furiously.

"What the hell are you doing Asami? I am trying to work." Glancing at Akihito, Asami arched his brow with an 'I'm not doing anything' look, returning to the TV screen, feigning innocence.

"Hmmm, what do you mean, Akihito?" Slightly annoyed, Akihito knew exactly what he was up to; Asami's eyes gave him away. They twinkled, not making any effort to hide anything. Akihito huffed, turning his head back his work, ignoring Asami completely.

'Two can play at this game'. Akihito muses to himself. Akihito had learnt Asami secretly hated being ignored at time like these. Asami moved closer, wrapping his arms around Akihito's waist, Akihito was enamoured with Asami's sentiment; Akihito sighed, givin in he turn his attention towards Asami.

"Asami, I think I'm spoiling you." Smiling into his chest Asami hummed happily, which felt more like he purred. Akihito thought maybe I should start calling him Kitten.

Akihito returned to his laptop work, leaning into his embrace, feeling happy. Asami seemed pleased with himself. 'Halfway through his class assignments'. Asami's swiftly grabbed the laptop, putting it on the table.

"What the-" With a satisfied movement, Akihito was laid down on the couch with Asami's body covering him. A predatory gleam flashed in his eyes as he stared down at the blond. He could feel Akihito tremble.

A beautiful hue of pink began blushing on Akihito cheek. Akihito was just about to protest, opening his mouth, but Asami captured his soft lips in a kiss instead. With his acceptance of his tender affections, Akihito wrapped his arms around Asami neck, pushing his fingers into Asami hair. Akihito deepened the kiss. Asami just smiled, and Akihito felt it against his mouth. Asami was obviously pleased with Akihito reaction.

Asami tongue circled Akihito's, fighting for dominance; their bodies heating up. Fingers found their way underneath the shirt again, Akihito shivered into Asami's touch. Grazing bare skin with teeth, Asami pulled back, looking down at Akihito's beautiful body. Asami licked his lips, bending down to press his face into the crook of Akihito neck.

He laid himself on top of Akihito, smothering him in his warmth. "I'll never get tired of you like this, Kitten" he breathed hotly in his ear. Asami was purring when he caressed Akihito face, Akihito was thinking 'Asami is worse than a house cat'. Straddling Akihito's waist, he sat up. Golden eyes penetrated blue ones, Akihito stopped breathing, mesmerized by his stare. Asami chuckled, slowly bringing a hand up to his face, rubbing it against Akihito's now burning cheeks, cooing softly the feel of cool metal on his face.

As Asami descended downwards, his lips brushed against Akihito's collarbone. Akihito gasped as he purposefully teased his skin.

Akihito's mind was falling into chaos with this soft display of affection. As Asami's mouth travelled down Akihito's body, making him feel like Asami was playing with his prey. His lips worked their way downwards again, and teased his navel. Akihito's body reacted by breaking out in goosebumps.

He licked and sucked gently over every part of his torso. While his hand groped Akihito's ass, Asami covered his mouth with his own as a moan escaped his throat. Akihito was losing himself completely, surrendering to Asami's ministrations. He gasped as his legs were pushed apart and Asami laid himself right on Akihito stomach.

A sly smile crossed his face without Akihito seeing it. Asami's fingertips gently fluttered over his nipples, and goosebumps trailed after each touch, like electric shocks vibrating over Akihito's porcelain skin. Akihito was now aware that his blush was spreading downwards like a fire, unable to put out.

"Mmmm" lips hummed, as Asami licked at Akihito's navel again. "Impatient" Asami murmured.

Akihito turned his head towards Asami. As his hands caressed Asami's raven hair lovingly, Akihito whimpered his surrender.

Asami fondled the front of Akihito's pants, eliciting a gasp from his lips. Akihito was beginning to feel hot and bothered, when at that point all of a sudden Asami climbed off, leaving a whimpering and confused Akihito lying on the couch, completely dishevelled.

Still breathless, Akihito turned and stared at Asami. "W-wha?" Asami eyes sparkled mischievously as he replied slyly to Akihito confusion. "

"Mmm", Asami purred. "to be honest, finishing your students essays would probably be more important way to spend your time. So you'll need to finish that first. I'll go make some brunch." as he made his way off the couch.

Akihito incredulously stared at Asami. Akihito's lusty daze slowly evaporated, leaving his mind feeling numb, before it registered.

"What. T-The fuck? Finish what you bloody started, you bastard!" Akihito blurted out, now sitting up.

Asami's smile widened at that statement. He moved closer. "Actually, Akihito, I'd planned on behaving while I was here. But, if you're demanding so intensely about it, then I'll be happy to give you my co-"

Extremely pissed off now, Akihito interrupted him. "Actually, Asami, you are so right. I'm not in the mood anymore." starting to re button his shirt.

"I'm going to have something to eat-" However, before the words could leave Akihito's mouth, Asami had pulled Akihito back down onto the couch, laughing loudly.

"I suppose I could give you something to eat, Akihito." Pushing him back down so his back was flush with the cushions on the couch, he stared down into Akihito eyes playfully.

Akihito was still pissed, only to find his annoyance dying to ashes as soon as Asami continued his sensual ministrations on him, forgetting about the work completely.

"What would you like me to do, Akihito?"

T.B.C.


	16. 16 Tell me Why is it always you?

Chapter 16: Okay... Tell me! Why is all ways you?!

When Asami asked Akihito to marry him, Asami was pretty sure his kitten would say yes, but it was still a breathtaking thrill when he did. Then came a marathon round of sex (48 hours, a new record for their own personal team sport, heh), with the added bonus of them managing to destroy most of the furniture that had come with the penthouse.

Which Kirishima did NOT need to know any of the details about, or how they nearly broke the big screen TV, which was still dangling from its wall bracket by a single bent bolt clinging for dear life to a corner of the frame. Perplexing… yes. Deeply disturbing? Indubitably. But, as a good secretary and friend, Asami's personal life was his own business, or at least it was until Ryu, Kazumi and he had a few fingers of rye in them (and NOT Glenmorangie whiskey, by all that's holy), and they all began to brag a little, and share 'way too much. Asami had decided he was staying at Akihito's place at the university. Normally, he would have gone to one of his fine hotels, but Kirishima assumed Asami did not want to let Akihito out of his sight.

Kirishima was happy for Ryuichi. He needed Akihito in his life, after everything they'd both been through; even if it meant his personal routine was forever ruined. Asami had decided to take a few days off, doing minimal work from home, but after five days, Akihito had threatened to kick his ass if he continued to disrupt his university work. Which Kirishima was silently thankful for, as Asami was putting more work on his shoulders. Luckily, Akihito was more than happy to leave the penthouse to Kirishima's judgement, and had apologized profusely for the added duty.

Kirishima didn't mind, really, it was in his job after all, being Asami's personal assistant-bodyguard-majordomo-chef-dietician and mother hen, second in command of Sion, the Advisor Who Sees All and Knows All that Happens in the Realm of the Yakuza Underworld, and part time house elf, he's known Asami for over twenty years, so he knew Asami's tastes better than Asami did.

As such, Kirishima out did himself again. The penthouse was redecorated, not much more than a fresh coat of paint was needed, and all furnishings were replaced in recorded time. Asami was impressed when he returned to the penthouse. Kirishima had done an amazing job as always, leaving Asami again to wonder how he deserved the loyalty and friendship of such a man. For the most part, the same pieces were replaced with more updated versions, except the bed frame was for a lot bigger mattress called a California King and had a steel construction, which Akihito suspected Asami ordered custom made just so he could chain Akihito to a bed that was far more sturdy for their rough play. Akihito had to admit, it was actually more comfortable than the previous mattress. Kirishima was a genius.

The crime lord had stayed with Akihito at his accommodations for most of a week. Akihito had felt so weird and wonderful at the modest house with Asami living there, it was an oxymoron. Akihito had been sometimes taken aback when he saw Asami in the kitchen making tea or coffee, or sitting on the couch, watching the financial news channel. It was a totally different atmosphere then being in a designer penthouse with a billionaire. It was as if they were an admittedly middle class couple (who could buy a small country for weekend getaways, true), but a normal couple, nonetheless. Sometimes Akihito's mind would reel at the context of how domestic they had become. It was not natural: Asami should be a big, evil, scary, overlord predator, not a bloody domestic house cat. Asami had taken some minimal time off before, which was nice; after three days off work, it was heaven. But, by the fourth day, Akihito had to demand Asami get his oversexed ass back to work after the stunt he pulled on the couch. Akihito was off work for a while, so he thought he could get through some of his students work, and get ready for future assignments. There was also an upcoming trip to Nagasaki and Hiroshima to prepare for.

Asami's nights were sometimes interrupted, but Akihito understood how important the other side of his business was, and that it was not able to keep to a schedule. An important meeting had come up, which he could not get out of, but even so, Asami was reluctant to leave. Asami was not completely forthcoming about the illegal side of his business, but he was more open with him than before.

Thank god the penthouse was ready. As much as Akihito liked his own little house, the penthouse felt like home. Asami was getting back to normal. While Akihito loved the his attention, he sometimes felt that Asami was paranoid that he would leave again. Akihito smiled, for whenever Asami slipped his holster on, Akihito's groin began to ache. Akihito was luxuriating in their newly christened bed. Asami had gone back to work reluctantly, Akihito having persuaded him to go as he will be taking more time off for the honeymoon soon.

Akihito was not actually privy to any wedding information, Asami had deemed it classified, which made Akihito want to know more. He knew Asami had done it on purpose, to ruffle his feathers. They had now been officially engaged for a whole seven days. Akihito was slowly contemplating his life now, and what his future was going to be like. It scared Akihito a lot, but he loved that man, and now Akihito was aware how much Asami loved him. Even from the start of their non-romantic relationship, Asami and Akihito had always been drawn together, rather reluctantly on both parts, but Asami in the last few days had buried himself so deeply into Akihito's heart that neither was ever escaping from the other, nor did they want to.

Akihito moaned to the familiar sensation coming from his lower backed, feeling both pain and pleasure from the night before. The sex was even better than before. Kirishima had told the university he had tonsillitis, and would be away for two weeks, but even though Kirishima did it for Akihito's benefit, Akihito could not shake the notion that Asami was still wielding his control of what HE wanted instead of what WE wanted. Akihito lifted his left hand up in the air, smiling at both the still-present cuff, and his beautiful ring. It glittered so brilliantly in the sunlight, the yellow diamonds reminding him of a certain crime lord's beautiful eyes. Akihito beamed liked a schoolgirl, then burrowed his head under the sheets to hide his blooming blush and a fit of giggles. He was going to be married to the most handsome, richest, and best of all, dangerous man in all Japan.

Akihito did not care about, nor wanted any of that, he only wanted the man (with the sexiest bod in Japan!). So yeah, he had been a crime photographer, and the thrill of the hunt was what he had desired; but being away from it for so long, he really did not missing it that much, or the stupid life threatening shit that came with it. However, he realised he still had fulfilment from teaching and his historical research, and that he could still feel the thrill with his photography.

Having a great stretch in bed that cold rival any cat's, Akihito thought 'I'll just pop in to the university, to see some students and pick up some work', as he would be in the tropics soon and not sure how long their honeymoon was going to last.

Giving a sigh, he grabbed a quick shower, dressed and had food on his agenda when he was interrupted by his phone vibrating. The university messaged him, just wanting to see if everything was all right, and if he could possibility pop in as there was an important meeting about the upcoming trip for the whole Art Department. Texting back that he could make it in, he thought 'I just need to wear a medical mask and blush a lot, which won't be hard, after the past few day with my Yakuza... Uh, where was I? Oh, yeah... food!' Akihito scrambled to the kitchen.

Asami had to go back to work, which put him a foul mood. He wanted to stay with Akihito a bit longer, but Kirishima had been looking after Sion for a bit too long, and although Sion was again secure, he still needed to be seen captaining his ship. The fact that Akihito had threatened him to make him go back to work, due to the couch incident, miffed him. It really was not his fault. Akihito had demanded sex, so as was the deal, he indulged himself, but then his kitten had got all stroppy, blaming him for it. Asami chuckled, he had actually loved those few days in Akihito's home: it felt like they were just a normal couple.

Everything was set for the following week. Asami was making sure everything was indeed in order before they left. Asami beamed at the knowledge that Akihito knew practically nothing about the wedding, only that they were going to the tropics for their honeymoon. Akihito had left the wedding up to him, so he was not going to tell him a thing. Asami had decided they were going to be married back on the island he had taken Aki to recover after the Hong Kong incident. 'Where I'll tame that feisty wildcat/marry Akihito'. Asami's wolfish grin spread. 'Wildcat'. Asami had some plans for him.

Akihito was still Akihito, but just more of everything. His wasn't the self-doubting kid from three years ago. He had matured, his stamina was better, his moves more sensitive and controlled, and every now and then, Akihito surprised him, and took control of their playtime. He though he knew every move Akihito made, but there was now more to learn about him, the thought sending blood racing to a certain central part of his anatomy. Like a fine wine, his kitten could be savoured leisurely, and to be able to discover him all over again was not the worst situation he had ever faced. Rolling his shoulders, Asami could admit to being quite happy, too.

However, in very short order, Asami was no longer in as good a mood; the morning meeting had not gone so well. Actually, the businessmen he had met with had given him a headache. Instead of signing the contract as is, they were attempting some last minute changes to the carefully negotiated agreement, trying to wear him down and see if they could wring some bonuses and concessions out of the deal. Asami was seriously contemplating gunfire as a viable negotiation tool. But, a simple text from Akihito around lunchtime surprisingly improved his mood, and negotiations finished quickly, after he firmly let the other side know that no further bullshit would be tolerated.

Asami was not looking forward to talking to a local politician over some campaign that he wanted Asami's support over. He was a portly, boring man who just dawdled on and on about nothing of importance. Asami was losing patience, he had told him thirty minutes ago the answer was no, but it went over the idiot's head and he carried on, pitching his diatribe.

When Kirishima knocked on his office door, Asami was hoping for a good distraction to get this waste of time and money out of his building. Kirishima walked in, apologising for the interruption, and stated that there was an emergency that has arisen which needed Asami-sams's immediate attention. The time waster huffed as he left the office. Asami noticed that Kirishima's face was looking a bit pale. He waited for Kirishima to compose himself, but wasn't prepared for what he heard next.

"Sir... there's has been an incident at Tokyo University." Asami stomach started to churn, but then he remembered, Akihito was at home, so he shouldn't be worried.

"Alright, Kirishia", he nodded, a bit confused now, "what's it to do with me?" returning to his desk, he proceeded to skim over this morning's papers.

"Asami, you don't understand. It's Akihito, sir, he involved." Asami's stomach sank like a stone, his handsome face contorted slightly before it settled back into his normal stoic mask.

"Kirishima, what do we know?" Asami's mind drifted for a few seconds, starting to lament over what situation his kitten is in now. If he was lost or missing, his thoughts jumped to Izaya suggesting putting up posters around Tokyo, like looking for a lost pet, due to his childish personality. Asami sighed in annoyance. He needed to stop thinking about what his young brother would do, and start thinking about his lover, so he could carry on calm and collected, even though his insides were tearing at him to MOVE. Asami, while being concerned for his lover, was perfectly aware from experience that he was a magnet for trouble, but he should have been safe, even going to the University.

"Sorry, Kei, I didn't hear you. Would you repeat that, please: what do we know?" Kirishima's expression turned sour. Asami only used his first name during work hours when he was distressed. Asami raised an eyebrow, and asked "Well, what is it? Where is he? What do you know that I don't?" Kirishima refused to make eye-contact for a few seconds, gathering himself, before looking up and speaking in a solemn voice.

"There was an incident at the university, someone got stabbed on the grounds. I am afraid it was Takaba-sama, sir." Asami bolted out of the office door, Kirishima gave up speaking, knowing that his boss was fighting panic, and quickly followed him. Once they were on the elevator, Kirishima decided to finish his previous sentence. "Luckily, someone saw what happened and quickly gave him first aid."

Asami's index finger started to tap softly on his leg in anxiety and impatience; once the elevator got to the garage level, Asami was out of a partially opened door and moving towards his fastest vehicle with Kirishima on his heels. Kirishima made it a point to be obstinate that Asami was in no condition to drive.

Asami, for a second, was so hostile his whole body was trembling, just wanting to get to his Akihito as fast as possible. But he gave in to Kirishima, telling him with a tight lip to drive straight to the hospital. Asami decided to sit in the front next to Kirishima. He pulled out his phone, deciding to try and call Akihito, in case the incident wasn't that serious. Pressing "1" on autodial, he could hear the call start ringing on the other end. After the fifth ring, Asami's concern turns to foreboding; he we just about to put it down, when a young girl answered...

Akihito morning:

After a late breakfast, for the first time in a long time, Akihito walks just to enjoy Shinjuku. Remembering how the pavement felt under his feet, and the warm sun touched his face as he left their building, when he returned to Japan, he never thought he'd ever walk through this neighbourhood again, or that he'd would be back with Asami, and that they'd be engaged.

Akihito had decided for safety reasons to leave his ring at home. He was not ashamed to wear it, or of whom gave it to him, but he did not want to answer any awkward questions right now. He kept his metal cuff on, which meant the same as his ring, as far as he was concerned.

Akihito's thoughts turned to last time he left home alone, the night he saw Asami having sex with that blond kid; feeling bile in his mouth, he coughed.

'No,' Akihito chastised himself, 'it was all a hoax, and the guy he was fucking was me!'. Well, that was it. Akihito's face flushed at the recollection. Akihito relished the thought that it was he who put that look of pleasure on Asami perfect face, and that the ordeal that had put it there hadn't been too horrible, either.

Akihito decided to give Asami quick text.

From: kitten

To: bastard

I think that at your age, you should only last about thirty seconds up someone's ass, not thirty fucking hours. In the best interests of your health, and my asshole, I may have to limit your activities during our honeymoon. UNDERSTAND?!

Your Akihito

Akihito was hanging up, just as he entered the university grounds. Luckily, his department was near the entrance, but the meeting today was with the head of Arts near the cafeteria, which was close to the centre of the campus. Akihito slipping a on a medical mask (due to him being sick and all), then thinks of Asami. Akihito flares up, a beautiful blush crossing his cheeks. Yeah, now he'll look good and ill.

Akihito entered the building where the cafeteria is located. As he neared the room where the meeting is being held, he can hear what sounded like an argument. He slowed down, not meaning to eavesdrop; as he got closer, he noticed it sounded like a boy and girl fighting. They seemed to be in a room that was off to the side of the main corridor. Approaching the room, he had a clear view of a young couple arguing. Akihito removed his medical mask, hearing the young girl crying and demanding to be let go, he peered in just in case it turned serious when he saw the male suddenly swing his arm, knocking the female to the ground.

Akihito was in the room fast as he gently picked the girl and looked at the young man with a look of pure contempt. "I don't care what the argument was about, there's no reason to hit anyone, especially a woman." 'Just a little hypocritical', Akihito thinks to himself. Helping the young girl to her feet, Akihito carefully started to lead the shocked girl away. The young man, who was taller and broader than Akihito, grabbed his arm to stop them from leaving. Akihito turned away from the girl for a moment, giving the boy his full attention. Akihito took a step towards the young man,bringing his chin up as he set his shoulders, giving his potential opponents a withering look that caused chills to run down his spin. The boy immediately let go off Akihito's arm like it burned. Walking away, Akihito was more concerned with the sobbing girl. When they reached the door, Akihito had forgotten about the young man momentarily.

Distracted with the girl, that he did not sense the boy approaching from behind. The young man, furious over the whole situation, pushed past them, knocking both Akihito and the girl out of the way. He stumbled, regaining his footing while swearing under his breath. Akihito escorted the disoriented girl to the office where the meeting was being held. Akihito grabbed a passing student and ordered him to go get some ice, then come to the room.

Everyone was aghast when Akihito walked in with the girl. He explained what he had just witnessed when the deputized student came back with the ice. One of facility members grabbed her hanky, and after putting the ice in it, applied it on the girl's bruised face.

Knowing that she would be safe and looked after, he started to think that he might be able to catch up with the boy. He began to head back to where he last saw the male walking off to. Akihito quickly jogged up the corridor until he reached the exit. Seeing no sign of the male he was searching for, he began to head back.

Akihito started to feel a bit light headed, his vision was fading in and out and he began to struggle to keep his balance. He meant to lean against the wall only for a second or so to steady himself when he collapses to his knees.

A few students walking past saw Akihito on the floor, kneeling in a spreading slick of blood. They screamed and ran to get help. A puddle of rich red blood starting to form around Akihito's slumped body. He opened his eyes slightly only to be greeted with a fuzzy image of two men hovering about. One was shouting on the phone, but he couldn't make out the words.

Luckily, a young man, medically trained, happened to be passing by and gave assistance. He instantly realised that this had been a stabbing, and a lot of blood had been lost. Quickly but assuredly finding the wound where Akihito was bleeding from, he started padding it and putting pressure on the wound to stench the flow.

"Akihito... Precious kitten, stay awake. If you don't, you may never open your eyes again~". Tapping his cheeks hard to get his attention. Akihito blinked up at the young man; he had such a soft voice, and his eyes were beautiful. Akihito was feeling muddled, his thoughts were confused. The young man had come out from the shadows, his raven black hair reminding him of Asami; with blood red eyes instead of golden, but they were still mesmerising. Akihito chuckled as he thought this man reminded him of the devil. Bit ironic, thinking the devil would try to save someone. But then again, he did have his own demon who had done it, time and again.

Akihito swore he remembered his savour from somewhere. The somewhat familiar male kneeled down beside him, putting a bit more pressure that was necessary on the cause of the problem, making Akihito bite his tongue in pain. Just as he was about to pass out, he heard the male with a malicious smile whisper into Akihito's ear "Now look what you have done. You should stop making trouble for Big Brother. Looks like I'll have to take care of the mess~"

The loud commotion at the exit alerted students and facility members to the serious situation. When they arrive at the scene, it becomes chaotic; the female he helped earlier collapsed to her knees and began to wail that it was her fault.

The first aider just watched the female with utter boredom. He grabbed her hand, and placed it on the wound. The girl was confused as to whom the man was and what he was trying to do. "Keep Akihito… uh, I mean Sensei Takaba talking and awake, and press against his wound as hard as possible. The ambulance will arrive shortly." She nodded in understanding, and turning her attention back to Sensei, she squeezed his hand.

"You'll be okay, Sensei" she said sweetly, to which Akihito just smiled as he chuckled at their now reversed roles.

Akihito coughed and started to shiver. "Fuck... Asami's going to kill me", making the girl blush in embarrassment. When the ambulance arrived with police, they started asking questions. The first aider had disappeared again into the shadows, not wanting to be involved with the police.

When Akihito was hurried into to the ambulance, the girl he rescued asked if she could stay with Sensei Takaba. She was allowed to accompany Sensei in the ambulance. Still squeezing Akihito's hand, the girl jumped when she heard a mobile go off. Realising it belonged to Sensei, she thought it could be family so she decided to answer it. Tentatively she reached into his jacket pocket, and blushed again when she read the name of the caller ID: Bastard.

"Um... hello?" she shyly answered.

"Who is this and where's Akihito!" Asami was infuriated, but hearing how the young girl was scared, he lessened the intensity of his voice. "Where's is Sensei Takaba? Who am I speaking to?"

"My name is Suzumiya Haruhi, I am in the ambulance with Sensei Takaba" Asami could hear her begin to cry.

"I am so sorry, Sensei has been stabbed." Asami sat back in the car seat, trying to catch his breath; he could barely hear the girls voice over his pulse beating in his ears.

"Excuse me, sir, but who are you? The ID name that showed up as 'Bastard'" she whispered. She would be lying if she didn't think the male's voice was nice, and had to admit it was sexy. His laugh was a surprise, and it was deep rumble coming through the phone.

"My name is Asami, it's a special name between him and I. Could you pass the phone to one of the paramedics?" Timidly, she pulled on the closest person to get his attention and handed him the phone.

Asami's voice changed dramatically, becoming more authoritative. "Where are you taking Sensei Takaba?" The paramedic was not startled by the male's tone, and answered calmly.

"Tokyo General, sir, we should be reaching there in about three minutes." Asami immediately pulled the handset away and directed Kirishima to go there, and get things prepared for Akihito upon arrival. Asami was beginning to get impatient as he still didn't know his lover's condition.

"What are his injuries?" the paramedic started to become a bit annoyed, himself.

"What is your relationship with the patient?" Asami quickly thought up a lie.

"I'm his brother."

"Well, I shouldn't divulge such information, but Sensei Takaba was stabbed roughly fifteen minutes ago. He lost a lot of blood at the scene, but he's awake, and his pulse is steady." As the ambulance pulled up, the attendant ended the call.

Asami was stunned. He wasn't even meant to be at the university today, how does he always walk into danger. 'If he survives, I am going to... No, I will chain up him in the secret room forever. Without anything that uses batteries' Asami thinks as the car turns into the hospital entrance drive. As they pulled up to their destination, Asami was out of the car and through the doors. As he proceeded down a hallway, Kirishima was trying to keep up. "Asami, he is in surgery at the moment" he quickly called out where Akihito was currently located.

Asami's presence was felt like a Shinigami's shadow as soon as he entered the hospital. Kirishima was organising access for Asam's personal physician and prepping a private room. The only thing keeping Asami stable was the mantra 'pulse steady, pulse steady', knowing from both ends of the blade that knife wounds can be vicariously unpredictable.

Asami's steps became colder and heavier with each step, pounding on the floor like a steady heartbeat. Controlled but sweeping through the hospital like a tsunami, unlike the outside of the man, his own heart was twisted and anxious. He'd just got Akihito back; he didn't want to contemplate how love could hurt so much. A thought flashed through his mind: 'retire from both business and the Yakuza, and spend every minute they had left together with his kitten', because right now, that was all he could offer as a prayer for Akihito's recovery.

Kirishima, always loyal, always knowing before he did what was needed, stayed at Reception to get any more information on Akihito's condition. Asami felt like he was having a mini stroke, walking fast towards the operating theatre. As he got closer, a young man in surgical scrubs walked out of theatre, covered in blood, keeping his eyes closed; looking disappointed, he pulled his surgical cap off of his black hair, twisting it in anger.

Asami's felt like he had been kicked in the chest as his mind ran through endless possibilities; his breathing became labored, and his heart began to squeeze tight. The surgeon sighed, and turning towards him, asked if he was a relative. Asami, silent, nodded in confirmation. The doctor finally fully opened his eyes to reveal a far too familiar set of demonic red eyes brimming with amusement."I'm sorry, but we couldn't save his sweet little ass..."Asami, in a blind rage, roughly pinned Izaya to the wall by his throat.

"What on earth are you trying to do?" Izaya, finding his current situation very amusing, quickly and slyly pulled out his phone to take a photo for later uses. Izaya began to laugh as Asami tightened his grip. "What the fuck is wrong with you? What are you laughing at?!" Izaya just continued to laugh, while Asami muttered under his breath "Why couldn't it be you in there? It's not like anyone would miss you..." Izaya heard what was said, his laughter came to a stop, as his bangs covered his eyes.

Asami hesitated with the sudden change in attitude. "How disrespectful. I said someone died, I didn't say it was your little fucktoy" Izaya growled out, sending a sharp glare at his older brother, all amusement now long forgotten. Asami tried to calm himself down.

I apologize, I shouldn't have said that. I was distraught, so I'm only going to say this once: I would miss you if you were to die." A sudden smirk made its way onto Izaya's face, and Asami soon regretted saying those words as he heard it being repeated over again and again, only to realise that he had been recorded.

"Aw! I'm touched by your kind words. I'm going to treasure this forever." Asami sent a cold glare at the amused male.

"Delete it." Asami snarled, then shook his head, clearly losing sight for the reason of his sudden visit; however, he could not help but ask the question that was nagging at the back of his mind since he first recognised Izaya. "What are you doing here?" Izaya grabbed the wrist that was still wrapped securely around his slim neck, as his other hand tapped out against the wall. Asami released his strong grip, and Izaya rubbed his neck to create some relief while coughing to get some air back in his lungs.

"Well, brother of mine, if it wasn't for me, your Akihito would most likely be in a far more, shall we say, 'grave' situation? You should be grateful; and now you owe me something." Asami hung his head in defeat, knowing that something will eventually come around to bite him in the ass (and likely not in a way he'd enjoy). Izaya smiled victoriously. "Don't worry, the little kitten will be perfectly fine. He's resting in recovery now, so you'll be able to molest him tomorrow." With that, Izaya walked off with his arms lazily behind his head, a feeling of accomplishment coming with the reaction he got from his prank.

Asami wasted no more time, and headed straight to where his lover was currently situated. This time, a tall thin man came across to meet him. "Are you Asami-sama?" Asami nodded. "Well... Sensei Takaba is recovering from surgery at present. A small knife entered his lower back on the right side, which was lucky, as no vital organs or blood vessels were damaged. However, it was close to his spine, so we were investigating the extent of the damage to his spinal column or nerves, if any. We do know that before his collapse due to blood loss, he was walking, so we are taking that as a good sign."

As the man turned on his heels, Asami choked back a sob, and breathed out "Thank you, Doctor."


	17. 17 seriouslyWhy?

Restart my life.

Chapter 17: Tell me again... why is it always you?

Asami growled. Izaya had royally pissed him completely off. But, Asami's mind was right now more concerned with Akihito, and the possibility of a spinal injury. His eyes starting to glaze over in rage, Asami's trigger finger twitched; he desperately wanted to put a bullet into somebody.

Asami's gaze flicked across the hospital corridor, and fixed on the small young woman still covered in his Akihito's blood, and what look liked a fresh bruise that began to show on her face. She was nervously fiddling with the hem of her skirt, wiping away the odd tear trying to roll down her cheek.

Asami made himself relax, then walked over to the girl. "You must be Suzumiya Haruhi. I am Asami, we spoke briefly on the phone." Using his least threatening tone, Asami quickly worked out that Akihito plus young girl with a bruise equaled damsel in distress/hero complex.

Suzumiya Haruhi winced as she smiled up at Asami, momentarily thinking 'he's really sexy for an old guy.' Haruhi blushed slightly.

"That's a nasty bruise you have there, young lady; it looks recent" she sniffled for a moment, trying to get the words out.

"Yes, sir. Sensei came in when my boyfriend hit me." She sighed, lifting her hand to try and cover the hurt side of her face. Asami gently took hold of her wrist to stop action.

"Call me Asami. And I think you mean EX-boyfriend now" Asami commented..

"Okay then, Asami. Mmm... yes, my EX-boyfriend hurt me 'cause he got jealous over…, well, that's not important. Sensei came in and helped me. Sensei snapped at him, and gave him a look, which made him back off; but when we finally got to the door, he shoved past us and left. Sensei took me to his meeting room, but left quickly afterwards." She started to look guilty, then continued. "There was a loud commotion at the exit down the hall. The faculty and I left together to see what the problem was. When I arrived, Sensei was bleeding pretty badly. Luckily, there was a young man administering first aid while someone else had called for an ambulance. He had me put pressure on Sensei's wound and told me to keep talking to him, to keep him awake."

Asami groaned internally, then sighed. 'So that's what Izaya meant'. Closing his eyes, he thought 'Izaya will be the death of me', then anger started to boil up inside: what was Izaya even doing at the university? Surely it wasn't a coincidence. Leaving the question be, he mentally filed it away for the next time his personal flea popped up again.

"Sensei Takaba was shivering, but smiled when I arrived and took over looking after him. He said something before he was bundled up into the ambulance", she said, blushing again at Akihito's comment.

"Oh? What did Akihito, I mean 'Sensei' say?" he asked, looking amused at her reaction.

"Well, I shouldn't swear, but seeing he mentioned your name..." nodding encouragement, Asami eyebrows raised.

"Excuse me for my language, but Sensei said 'Fuck... Asami's gonna kill me.'" Asami chuckled. Suzumiya smiled slightly; when he smiled, he seemed more handsome, and even his laugh was sexy.

"Akihito always did have a flare with words, Suzumiya Haruhi", Asami mused at Akihito's words. The young girl began fiddling with her fingers on her lap.

"Asami, is Sensei... is he going to be okay? It's all my fault, sir..." she whispered, tears starting to stream down her cheeks.

Asami grabbed her chin ever so lightly so as not to hurt the bruise, his eyes fixed on hers, like he was trying to give her a hypnotic command. "Sensei Takaba Akihito will be fine, and this wasn't your fault, not in the least, so don't blame yourself, understand." Slowly, she nodded, as he carefully wiped her tears away.

"Now, could you give the name and description of you now ex boyfriend to my secretary Kirishima here, please. We'll coordinate with the police investigation... Now, Sensei will be fine, so don't worry." Asami gently patted her hands as he stood up and walked away.

Asami was itching for a smoke as he stood by a window, his hip gently resting on the edge of the window sill. Thinking to himself: 'No, it's not your fault. But your young man IS at fault, and will pay dearly for his actions today, no matter what the outcome.' Asami closed his eyes for a brief moment, his thumb rubbing his engagement ring as he assured himself that Akihito would be fine.

Asami was still reeling after Izaya's little not-so-tasteful joke; he felt his heart had literally stopped when he thought it was his kitten lying dead in the operating theatre. Izaya never was one for decorum. What he was, was an obnoxious, maddening, malevolent little shite. Asami took a deep breath, still trying to organize he thoughts. It didn't help when Izaya first materialized out of nowhere. Then, Asami actually thought Izaya have gone again, their business being concluded. So why was he back so soon, why was he at Akihito's university... Asami exhaled in despair, 'Izaya is a bloody nightmare'; then he thought of the last time Izaya popped up, and Asami visibly flinched at the memory. Asami had owed Izaya when Suduo Shuu arrived breathless, wrapped up in a bow, at his office; but then Izaya had to go and pull another stunt, which would cost him, what?

Izaya was always one for the dramatic. Asami couldn't deny his little brother's abilities, he did bring him the bastards that had cost him three years of being together with Akihito.

*********************************flash back******************

Asami's dreaded adventure:

Asami was working at Sion when a knock sounded at his office door. Asami was deep in thought and hadn't noticed it. He had been reminding himself that Izaya had left, their business concluded. Izaya was busy with his own problems in his own district, that Kirishima had helped create.

The office door rapped again. "Enter", Asami commanded as he stood to look out his office window, stretching his legs.

"Good morning, Asami-sama" greeted Souh, as his head of security came into Asami's office and reported, his voice enthusiastic. "We found him, Asami. We have him tied up at warehouse two, ready for your arrival. The young man gave us no resistance, and complied immediately" Souh's usually blank face hinted at a grin..

Asami frowned momentarily, trying to remember what he was on about, when it dawn on him: the mole. Asami nodded in confirmation. Grabbing his suit jacket, Asami proceeded to exit Sion. "Kirishima, I need you to handle my schedule this morning while I deal with this situation. It won't take long."

Kirishima bowed, and acknowledged "Hai!" as he watched Suoh and Asami enter the elevator.

Meanwhile, at warehouse two, the mole was currently winding up the guards with a combination of witty comments and rude remarks; this was getting pretty annoying for the guards, since he was acting as if he wasn't in a life or death situation. Starting to get bored with the lack of reaction from either guard, an idea formed in the mole's mind while a devilish smirk grew on his face, which quickly turned into an innocent smile. Singling out one of the men, he started to hit on him: "Hey baby, you must be a light switch, because every time I look at you, you turn me on~" The guards both turned to look at the mole with very creeped out expressions; since he didn't receive a reply, he started up again. "Did you sit in a pile of sugar, then, hon? 'Cause you have a pretty sweet ass~"he said as he looked his target up and down, then finished with a flirtatious wink. Just as Asami and Suoh walked in, the younger of the guards lost it and delivered a solid punch to the mole's face.

Asami's limo pulled up outside the warehouse. It was a discreet place, the abandoned area around the dilapidated-looking building ensured privacy. Asami step out as Suoh opened the limo door. He wore his three piece suit like body armor, with a cigarette dangling from his lips. Asami stood six feet tall, and cast a very large shadow; if someone were to get caught in it, it was said to swallow people whole, sending them to their own personal slice of Hell.

When Asami and Suoh reached the warehouse door, they heard muffle noises coming from inside. Asami paused for a second, as dread crawled up his back when he heard a very familiar playful voice, but he knew if he didn't enter the warehouse and stop him, he would cause more trouble than he was worth. Swallowing that thought down, Asami heard a laugh which made his eyebrow twitch, and then a thud. Opening the door quickly, Asami was greeted with the sight of something that he really didn't like: lying on the floor was a young man tied to a toppled chair, his lip cut and bleeding, and one of his guards was leaning over him with an angry scowl, huffing after just hitting their captive.

The young man laughed at the goon, until his red eyes shifted to the door and saw Asami standing there. Asami looked at this new dilemma with growing horror and amazement as he walked into the warehouse with Suoh. "Getting the party started, I see" Suoh nodded as he spoke to his guards.

Asami slowly turned to Suoh with what could only could be described as an 'if you want to live, shut. up.' look, which perplexed Suoh completely. "Untie him, now." Asami ordered. Suoh and the guards were stunned, standing rooted to the spot, unable to move.

"I said unite him. NOW. What did you think you were doing?!" Asami glared at the guard with a look as sharp and deadly as a knife. The prisoner just laughed at the sight in front of him and got up from the pile of ropes as if he hadn't even been restrained. He then jumped onto Asami in a tight koala hug and squealed in delight

"My hero~ My knight in shining armor... or a very sharp suit, in this case~" Asami didn't make any movement to indicate that he would remove the person attached to him as he knew it would be pointless, and just make the male whine in protest, and he really didn't want to deal with that.

Izaya quickly reached into his suit jacket, removed the gun out of Asami's underarm holster and shot the guard who had punched him in the kneecap in one smooth motion, all with an innocent face that could deceive the devil himself. Asami quickly took the gun out of his grip, thankfully without too much trouble from Izaya.

"Little boys shouldn't play with big boy things~ naughty~" Izaya growled lowly. Asami heard it and raised an eyebrow at this unexpected action, but within a few seconds Izaya's face just went blank, and he decided to cuddle into his older brother's chest, resting his head in between his neck and shoulder while maintaining a tight grip. "I'm tired. This is no longer entertaining, let's go home now."

Suoh was very confused with the whole situation. "Asami-sama. This person was caught hacking our security feeds. He was also making regular calls to that Sakazaki person."

Asami looked down at Izaya, and asked "Care to elaborate why you've been working at Sion, in the security department?" Asami didn't really want to know, as anything Izaya said would just give him a headache.

"Well, I can explain, but its gets boring. Let's just say Sakazaki hired me to spy on you. I thought it'd be a hoot. So your security procedures are shit, aniki." Suoh's jaw nearly dropped to the floor when he hear the endearment.

"For the record, you have seven office workers that have been swindling your business for a good few month now. Some have gotten engaged, they even invited me to their weddings, so sweet."

Izaya's voice then turned cold and calculating. "And one belonged to a known gang member who had tried to persuade you to invest in his organization." A smile so dewy fresh came across his face. "Sorry aniki, he won't be showing up for work anymore. For some reason, he jumped yesterday morning." Asami was mildly surprised and turned his attention to Suoh for an explanation.

Suoh coughed. "Actually, sir, I was going to brief you on that employee's death. We were in the middle of investigating why he jumped when we apprehended this young man for spying."

"Well, you don't need to now." Asami smiled down at Izaya with approval in his eyes. "So, little one: why all this subterfuge?" Asami asked, mildly curious.

"I was bored and wanted some fresh air, and your guards were quite willing to take me outside. It was fun, 'til that…" he sniffed, pointing to the man on the floor, clutching his leg below his shattered knee cap, and howling in agony.

"Suoh, make sure he gets medical treatment" Asami was just ignoring the young man who had attached himself to his suit. Suoh was going into shock with everything that was going on, he had never seen Asami so accommodating as he was with this young man, other than Takaba-kun. Suoh slowly bent to pick up his wounded subordinate, and handed him off to another guard to carry out Asami-sama's order..

"Ryuichi, they described to me how scary you really were, and how I would beg for death before you finished with me" Izaya chuckled. Asami noticed that Izaya was actually tired, and let him hang on as it meant he could keep him out of trouble. Asami turned to leave, and said to the remaining guards in a patronizing tone: "You all got off lucky, he could have done much worse to more people. A word of warning: if any rumours of what happened here today get out, I will hunt you all down; or better yet, I will let Izaya here take care of it for me." With that, Asami and Suoh left the warehouse, leaving the remaining guards to stare at his retreating figure in confusion; but just as the door slowly started to close, they didn't miss the guy who was wrapped around their boss stick his tongue out at them while making a peace sign, leaving them agitated.

Once in the limo, Asami turned his attention to Izaya who was pretending to sleep. "So, my little mole, why were you working for Sakazaki." Izaya opened his eyes and grinned. "He paid a lot of money to spy on you and then even more to kill you, of course."

Asami hummed at the last part of the statement. "Which, depending on the day of the week, you would have done for free. Or more likely, for a bag of candy." Izaya shrugged his shoulders.

"Your security really sucks. I was working there for a few weeks when Sack-a-shit-zki approached me. It was better if I handled things, as you are doing a such great job with the media at the moment." Asami growled in annoyance at the last part.

"Seeing as Sakazaki trusts you so much, should we just toy with him for a while, dear brother?" Izaya smiled as the limo pulled away from the warehouse. "Izaya, if I take you home, will you promise not to come back? I thought you got what you came for. You got your teddy bear, and your notebook of dirty little secrets."

Izaya just looked at him. "Well, big stupid brother, I'll have you know that I am still looking after you. I'd thought better of you, you were beginning to lack in your judgement. You are not seeing potential dangers, and you're being so reckless lately..." Izaya clucked in disapproval. Asami snickered and shook his head. "Fine. How about I drop you off at that club you like to play at instead."

*********Present Day*****************

Asami was still slightly smiling at Akihito's last comment, then instantly frowned as the doctor's words wormed their way into his head. Spinal cord injury. Asami was more concerned about Akihito's mind if anything permanently damaged the energetic young man. Trying to push away negative thoughts, he stood, not hearing Kirishima approach. Asami was surprised when Kirishima placed his hand on Asami's shoulder. "Ryuichi, this is Akihito we're talking about. If I may be so bold, if he can put up with your… "physical intensity" over the last week or so, then with all due respect, this is nothing" he said, reassuringly, a tint of pink crossing Kirishima's cheek. Kirishima usually wasn't so open with what he knew or didn't know, but for him to say this now, Asami had to smile at Kirishima.

"Akihito will be under observation in recovery for another hour or so, but he seems to be doing well, sir. I'll also send Suoh to find the boyfriend." Just as Kirishima turned to leave, Asami spoke up.

"Very well, Kei. But don't hurt him. Akihito may have been ruthless to Suduo and Sakazaki, but that doesn't mean he would be towards a student. Let the police handle it, and let the courts decide; but once he's in prison for a few months, I want him stabbed on his left side, opposite of Akihito. And let him bleed out." Cold gold eyes reflected a maddening malice in Asami. Whenever it comes to Akihito being hurt, Kirishima could see a film of ice forming over Asami's heart. If anything should ever happen to Akihito, Asami would never know sanity again.

Asami watched the young girl sitting in the corridor, still crying. Asami pushed off of the wall, and went to sit next to her.

"Haruhi, how is your face?" Looking up as Asami stared down his golden eyes were sharp but somehow soft.

"Asami. It's better, thank you. Sensei Takaba saved me, if he hadn't come in, I'm sure he was going to hit me again. I was sure he was going to hit Sensei, but he froze. We didn't know anything was wrong, until we heard the commotion at the exit." She was trying to keep her tears from falling.

"Asami", Haruhi sniffed and smiled up at him "he smiled when he thought of you. I just wanted you to know, Sensei is really well liked at school. I'm not in his class, but I've heard that he is kind, understanding and would help anyone."

"Yes, Akihito is very special. He has a unique outlook on life which can be contagious." Asami smiled fondly. "Now, Haruhi, a piece of advice: if a man hits you once, he will most likely do it again, no matter what he promises. You are young and quite pretty, so you can do much better. For Sensei's sake, I am sure that's what he would say if he were here." Wincing again, she smiled, making a nonverbal decision that she would agree.

When a different doctor came out, Asami stood up and approached him. "And you are…?" the doctor queried.

Asami smirked "I'm his... brother." The physician nodding in understanding.

"Well, a five inch blade was pushed through his lower back, close to the spine. Sensei Takaba had lost a lot of blood, and needed transfusions. The blade entered at an angle, so the tip just grazed his spinal cord. The fact that he was walking unaided after the attack makes me very optimistic, but until he wakes up we won't know the full extent of his injuries. In my opinion, the possibility of any permanent paralysis is minimal, but if there were to be any side effects, after physio, they would just be temporary. I will check back again in a hour. He's resting right now, you can go in when the nurses are finished in about fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Sensei" was all Asami could muster, as the sound of the young girl crying started again. She had overheard the conversation, and felt relieved. Asami noticed that she had been joined now by three friends.

Kirishima organized a private room for Akihito as soon as he was declared stable enough to move. Asami's own private doctor had privileges at the hospital, and was on his way.

When Asami walked in his private room, Akihito looked so pale, and so small in the bed with a blood and IV bag hanging on the stand next to him. Asami sat on side of the bed, and lifted his weak little kitten's limp hand and smiled sadly as he kissed the back of it.

"Akihito, why is it always you. You should have been able to dodge such an attack; you got me good a few times just this week…" Kissing his shoulder, he then rested his forehead against Akihito's. "Should I just keep you locked safely away, kitten?"

Akihito started coughing, his bleary blue eyes blinked up wide, startled to see Asami so close. Asami smiled and gently kissed his head. "Here, I'll get you a drink". Asami moved off and Akihito watched while Asami poured some water. As he moved the cup towards Akihito, he added a straw to let him sip the water more easily.

When Akihito could finally talk, he rasped out "I would prefer to be stabbed again than to spend months in your secret room."

Akihito winked. Asami smiled back, and rumbled "I said 'lock you up', nothing at all about the secret room. Nice to see where your mind is at, Akihito" he chuckled, kissing him warmly.

"I was wondering if Suzumiya Haruhi is okay. She was really scared, that little shite hurt her, then stabbed me. I didn't know he had a weapon, it must have been when we going to the door at my blind side, or I would have seen it, and kicked his punk ass up and down the hallway." Asami laughed.

"Suzumiya Haruhi is fine. She's waiting outside, where there are ten students gathered. The doctors needs to talk to you before any visitors will be allowed in.". Akihito was going to ask how he'd got in, momentarily forgetting who he was talking to. Asami read Akihito's expression, and guessed the question he was going to ask.

"I just told them I was your brother" he said, chuckling with great amusement.

"That's just great. I'm a gay man, getting fucked by my older brother, while marrying a bastard and having to move because my neighbors are complaining about the all the noise we make screwing" he griped as the door swung open. Akihito clamped his mouth shut, hoping to the gods no one heard his outburst.

"Luckily, being his doctor, I know Asami-sama well, and can tell you that you're far too normal to be part of his family." Akihito glared daggers at Asami while blushing furiously.

"Okay, I need to do a few tests. Takaba-kun, the knife tip grazed your spine, so there may be some temporary paralysis." Saying this, the physician dragged the bottom of his pen up the sole of Akihito's feet, one at a time. One foot reacted fine, the other seemed sluggish. He then tested the blond's reflexes on his toes, ankles, knees and legs with a fine wire used to test neuropathy damage.

"Takaba-kun, you have a slight delay in the reflex action of your right leg, confined to below your ankle. You have feeling, and I'm quite confident it's only temporary, so don't panic. You'll be climbing up the sides of buildings, and giving Asami-sama a reason to drink his expensive whiskey again very shortly" he said, giving them both a supportive smile.

Asami was brisk sounding when he said "We have plans to leave Japan next week for a wedding. Our wedding." The doctor was busy writing notes on Akihito's charts when he looked up.

"Well, congratulations Akihito, Ryuichi! I'm so sorry, but it's up to Akihito's body to decide when he'll be ready to leave. But, like I said, it's only temporary. He is going to be staying here for a least three or four days, and it can take roughly seven to ten days for any stab wounds to start to heal properly, assuming there's no infection, so my advice is to postpone any travel for a few extra weeks. Even if Akihito is pregnant, and that's what's triggered this sudden wedding, he shouldn't be 'showing' for a while yet, so you'll both look good in the photos for some time. And", the doctor smiled, "I will advise your student fan club gathered outside that you are not allowed non-family visitors for at least three days." And with that, he left the room.

Asami looked down into those cerulean blue eyes, glazing with tears. Akihito opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. Asami took his jacket and vest off, rolled up his shirt sleeves, then carefully climbed onto Akihito's bed, maneuvering himself so as not to hurt his lover. He rested his head on his fist, and with his free hand, slowly stroked up Akihito's arm, along his collarbone to his neck, then down his jawline, and with a feather light tug on Akihito's chin, he made him look up at him for the first time since the doctor finished speaking. Akihito looked deep, searching for something in Asami's golden eyes as his tears started to fall.

Asami kissed him, full of understanding and protectiveness, letting Akihito know he wasn't alone. He lifted his lover's wrist with the metal cuff on it, and inter wove his fingers with the hand that still had Asami's cuff on, which also had his ring. Akihito's eyes looked at Asami's hand, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth when he saw the cuffs and the ring, remembering that this was just a temporary setback. Letting go for a second, Asami clicked the morphine drip and re-entwined his fingers with Akihitos. Slowly kissing and nuzzling his neck, he soon elicited a soft moan, and Akihito's eyes closed shut.

*******Izaya on duty************

Next morning, there was a guard at his post outside Akihito's room to make sure there were no unwanted guests *cough* *cough* Izaya *cough* *cough*, only to be blind to what was happening inside the room now, and what was going to happen in a few short hours.

Asami came to the hospital bright and early to spend as much time as he could with his lover. He walked straight into the private room and noticed a potted plumeria plant with a note reading "Sorry you got stabbed~ ^x^". Asami crumpled it up by reflex. He had to admit that the flowers his brother chose were delicate and unique looking, but he also realised that he should bump up the security as it was clear that Izaya was still getting in somehow.

Looking over to the sleeping blond, he softly caressed his cheek lovingly, when he heard the door open. "Are you a relative? Or a loved one?" Asami answered without looking away from his kitten. "He's my fiancé, actually." Once he looked up, he stared in complete and utter disbelief (and really wished he hadn't), his vision showing none other than Izaya dressed in a nurse's uniform. "Did you finally lose your sanity, Izaya?" The 'nurse' tilted his head in confusion, then tapped his name tag. "Who is Izaya? As you can see, my name is Patricia."

Asami looked utterly unimpressed as 'Patricia' walked over to the patient's bed, swaying 'her' hips in a flirtatious manner. 'She' gently pushed Asami out of the way and reached over the sleeping Akihito in a rather provocative manner, the hem of 'her' outfit riding up 'her' thighs. Asami, having enough of Izaya's shenanigans, grabbed him by the back of his pink, supposedly sexy nurse's outfit, marched him outside the room, and dropped him on the floor.

Asami leaned against the wall and crossed him arms while Izaya rubbed his butt to help with the it's sudden collision with the floor and pouted. "Aw, you had to go and spoil my fun." Asami's eye twitched in annoyance at the boy's idea of fun, which he should no longer be surprised by, at this point. "Is this how you treat women? No wonder you're engaged to a guy~"

Asami closed his eyes, no longer wanting to look at his cross-dressing younger brother. "Izaya... why?"

Izaya picked himself off the floor and patted down the back of his outfit to get rid of any dirt, and replied casually "Why what?"

Asami just looked at him as if he was stupid, which was far from the case. "Why are you here? Why are you dressed like that? Why are you in Akihito's room? Just... why?"

Izaya just twirled around and did a 'cute' girly anime pose. "Don't I just turn you on~ if you want to ravish me, I wouldn't refuse~" Izaya playfully winked, making Asami cringe in disgust.

Izaya then stuck out his tongue. "Joking~ to answer your questions, I am here because I care for our little kitten. I am the one who found him in his hour of distress in the first place, I even gave him mouth to mouth…" He gently rubbed his bottom lip " and he has such soft, kissable lips…" he licked his lips as if trying to recall the memory.

Asami grabbed a handful of Izaya's dress and pulled him forward. "Do. Not. Touch. What. Is. Mine. Do you understand?" Izaya raised his hands in fake surrender. "I saved him, you should be grateful~" he shook his head in mocking disappointment at Asami.

Not letting go of Izaya he, asked "What were you even doing at the University in the first place?" As soon as he spoke those words, Izaya laughed as if he has heard the funniest thing in the world. He collapsed, tears in his eyes, slapping one hand on the floor while the other was around his waist like it was starting to hurt from laughing so much.

Asami stared at him questioningly, and started to get concerned for the boy's mental state. Once Izaya had calmed down, he began to wipe the tears from his eyes and finally managed to gasp "They hired me as the University's student counsellor! Everyone really is stupid and naive, it's so fun, messing with people's judgements and their minds~" he quietly began to laugh to himself as he relived the memories. Asami just wanted to bang his head against the wall. Well, first Izaya's, then maybe his...

Izaya, once composed, reiterated how he had found their little Aki-chan.

Flashback (At the university)

Walking around, proud and amused by his recent activity, only a few days previously the university accepted him as their counsellor; he was both close to Akihito and he was able to mess with naive minds. It was a win-win deal on his part.

It was late in the day; most students had gone home, along with some of the teachers, leaving the building seemingly abandoned and deadly silent, so it was only natural that Izaya would look for entertainment. He had just finished 'talking to' and 'helping' a female student up on the building's roof; (you could say she wouldn't be around for a long while), anyway, he knew there's a staff meeting about an upcoming Arts Department trip taking place near the cafeteria.

He immediately recognised a familiar figure standing with his back to him. A wicked smile appeared, however, it turned into a confused expression as he noticed the blond in front of him had not moved an inch, and was staring intently at something. He also noticed that his hands had curled into fists. Raising an eyebrow in interest, he leaned to the side to see some male, who in his opinion looked pathetic and not worth his time hit a female who was in tears, and who's eyes were filled with fear. It wasn't even worth a laugh, he was just curious to see what a certain little kitten would do; he was the only reason Izaya stayed as long as he did.

He watches as Akihito grabbed the male's hand that was about to strike the young woman again.

"There is no reason to hit a girl or anyone else." Izaya watched in slight amusement as Akihito helped get the female upright, to get her out of that situation, just to be stopped when the male grabbed hold of Akihito's arm, only to receive an icy challenging glare which made the male student let go of his arm and back off. As they got to the door, Akihito's attention was more on the female, and he forget about the male in the room behind them.

He did not sense the boy coming behind him and push past them both. Izaya decided to hide in the shadows and follow 'their' kitten. Akihito burst into the meeting, getting the attention of everyone present, their once-annoyed expressions from the rude intrusion quickly turned into concerned looks as they quickly went to help the photographer and the bruised girl.

Izaya followed Akihito out into the corridor and watched him begin to stagger, then collapse. He knelt down, assessed Akihito's condition, and put pressure on the knife wound, making Akihito bite his tongue in pain. Just as the blond was about to pass out, Izaya tutted and said "Now look what you have done~ Making trouble for Big Brother. Looks like I have to take care of this mess~"

"So, here I am, giving extra special care to my little Akihito, and you just always see the negative side of things, you old spoil sport." Izaya looked down at his invisible watch on his naked wrist, and squeaked "Oh, look at the time! I'll be late for work…" Just as he was turning to leave, Asami grabbed the collar of the uniform to halt Izaya.

"Let me make this crystal clear, sweetie. Don't go near Akihito." Asami's voice was low and deadly.

"Yeah, yeah". Izaya said, rolling his eyes, and bending his fingers to touch his thumb, making talking motions in time to the words. 'He's mine.' Got it." Asami watched Izaya skip down the hospital corridor.

Pulling out his phone out, Asami called his secretary. " Kei, find out why my" rolling his eyes "my crazy-assed 'brother' is working both here at the hospital, and at the university." Disconnecting the call, he headed back into Akihito's room.

Kirishima just wanted to bang his head on his desk top when he heard Izaya was back. 'I don't want to deal with him anymore', he mentally whined to himself. 'Doesn't Suoh have one of his rookies on "the shit list" to look after him? Ryuichi definitely doesn't pay me enough for this crap!'


	18. 18 unexpected visit

Restart my life.

Chapter 18: An Unexpected Visit

Akihito was restless, lying on the couch in the penthouse, looking at the ceiling. Asami had been hovering since he left the hospital, which, he admitted, was nice, at times, in small doses; but at other times, in his full-on possessive mode: argh. "I am not some delicate princess, Asami" he snarled loudly at the man in the kitchen making tea.

Asami knew he was in trouble when his surname was spoken in that petulant tone. "No, you are far from delicate, Kitten" he poked him a little, chuckling to himself, just to be rewarded with a shout of "Bastard!" Knowing full well Akihito was rebelling against both the boredom of convalescence and the indignity of being called "princess", Asami walked in and placed the cups on the table, sat down beside Akihito and lifting the boy's legs onto his lap, prepared to take his life in his own hands.

"I, am not, a princess" was ground out as a pair of blue eyes glared at him. Asami leaned over and kissed Akihito.

"You are my princess, Your Highness" Asami smirked through the kiss, pleased with the look Akihito gave him. "It's only been three weeks, and you have improved a great deal. You've pushed hard in rehab, the limp is hardly noticeable now, so I know you're not weak, Kitten." Asami stroked Akihito's legs, and started massaging Akihito's foot.

"So my princess, have you told anyone about the new wedding date?" he asked, glancing over at Akihito.

"Uh, I… I thought you were" he replied, looking a little lost.

"No, that's your job. I had everything planned out, but as we had to wait to assess your recovery… well, we're now going with Plan B. We were meant to have left last week, but you decided it was more important to go get stabbed instead." Sarcasm lay thick on Asami's lips as he kissed the top of Akihito's foot. "If you didn't want to get married, there were easier ways on both of us to let me know..." Akihito was confused now. He knew Asami was joking, but his tone seemed to have a deeper meaning.

Akihito moved so that he was straddling Asami's lap, resting his head on the strong shoulder. "It was an accident, Ryuichi" Akihito murmured.

"What, you accidentally backed into a knife blade?" Akihito looked at Asami with a very annoyed expression.

"If I'd known he was such a cowardly little shit, I would have kicked his ass first, and asked questions later" he huffed, a hint of pride in his voice. "Anyway, what did you do with him." Asami rubbed his hands up Akihito sides.

"Nothing." Asami kissed Akihito lightly.

When he broke the kiss, Akihito gave him a disbelieving look. "You," pointing at the big chest in front of him. "Did nothing. Really. That's not your M.O. Hanging him up in a warehouse someplace, beat all to shit is more your style; or maybe even putting a bullet in him somewhere, perhaps." Asami hummed, nodding at Akihito's accurate assessment.

"I let the police handle it, thinking you might not like me beating a student all to shit, or maybe putting a bullet in him somewhere, perhaps."

Akihito smiled "Well, yes. But remember: I intimidated his ass first." Akihito was now nestling his head in the crook of his neck, feeling Asami's deep chuckle vibrate through both their chests.

"So, once more: as the plans have changed, are you going to tell anyone?" he repeated, kissing Akihito's temple.

"Yes, actually today. Kou and Takato are coming over. I would've told them sooner, but rehabilitation was demanding; it was bad enough with them coming to visit at the hospital all the time." Akihito looked at Asami, who had a slight frown. "I didn't tell them about you asking me to marry you" he sighed, pausing to find the right words. "They are still a little wary of you, so I wanted them to get to know you a little, and to see for themselves that I am totally safe with you."

Asami raised his eyebrows at his blond's words. "So, what, you needed their approval?"

"No!" Akihito sputtered. "No, I just want all four of us to get along, that's all." Akihito started kissing Asami's neckline. "Mmm", he hummed.

"So then, what are your plans today" Asami asked, caressing the boy's back with his fingers.

"Kou and Takato are coming over to visit soon, then I'm going to the hotel to meet Fei for lunch, all as soon as you leave" he grinned as he reached up for another kiss.

"If you keep kissing me like that, I won't be able to go anywhere." Akihito looked at Asami questioningly, until Asami moved his hips to let Akihito feel the consequences of his actions rub against him.

"Will you stop being so fucking horny." Akihito slapped Asami's shoulder as he started climbing off his lap. But, Asami grabbed his waist, pulling him back in for another kiss, leaving Akihito panting hard.

Once he caught his breath, he got off (don't go there, you pervs!) of Asami's lap and sat on back on the couch, grabbing his tea. He sat with his knees up by his chest, resting the cup in his hands. "Is it me, or do you have to have the last word, and the last kiss, every single time?" Akihito gave him an amused look, playing as he sipped his drink.

"Yes" came the unabashed confirmation.

Akihito smirked at Asami. He knew if he carried on with this conversation, he'd be in the bedroom in ten seconds flat. Even if that was a very hot, sexy, temptation, Akihito firmly closed his mouth shut. Asami nodded, knowing exactly what Akihito was thinking. Asami got up and began getting ready for work. As Asami was about to leave, he kissed Akihito one last time, toe curlingly deep. "God, you tastes so damn good" Asami thought.

When he pulled away to look at Akihito, he was all flushed and sexy-looking. As Akihito regained his senses, he had a thought: "Ryuichi. Did you find the man who saved me at the university?" Asami froze for a moment, then turned to look at Akihito.

"No, not yet." Akihito knew Asami was hiding something. Every time he had asked while in the hospital, Asami either managed to deflect the question, or they were interrupt by a nurse or his physio team.

"And those beautiful flowers, they were exquisite" Akihito watched, waiting for an answer.

"Kirishima did look into it, and is currently searching for this mysterious devil of yours, but he hasn't found any leads yet. I am sure someone that distinctive will be found. As for the flowers, well, I think a nurse brought them in." Asami frowned slightly as he kissed the top of Akihito's head. "Now, I have got to go. I will see you tonight."

Akihito motioned that Asami was dismissed, and as for his explanations, well, he would just have to find out for himself. He was a reporter, after all.

"I just remembered: I also have physio this afternoon, and then our family dinner." Akihito just loved teasing the crime lord after his scolding by "big brother" Feilong while he was in hospital. Akihito didn't miss the slight flinch Asami had whenever Akihito used the word "family".

"See you tonight, brat." Asami said as he left the penthouse, knowing he had the last word.

Akihito wasn't worried about telling his best friends that he was getting married as they had both been supportive about him being gay and all, but Takato was suspicious of Asami and his work. Akihito hadn't elaborated on the other side of Asami's business, because they just didn't need to know.

At first, Takato was concerned that Aki was getting married so quickly after returning to Japan and with who he was marrying. He knew Asami was a powerful, dangerous man, and after the whole "nearly destroying Sion" incident three years before, not to mention Akihito's disappearing act. Takato was anxious, but Akihito explained how it had all been a very detailed hoax, and that the culprits had been quietly apprehend and were facing justice, all while hoping his expression was as neutral as possible. He didn't want his friends to ever know what had actually happened to those miscreants, or what part he had to played in it.

Akihito knew deep down Takato was making sure 100% that he was truly happy, and that being married was what he really wanted. When Akihito had finished relating most of what Asami had said to him about how he loved him, (leaving LOTS of other stuff out); he hated lying to his friends, but Asami's business was Asami's business. Akihito promised he was safe with him. What Kou and Takato were also concerned about was Feilong, for obvious reasons! Akihito had finally told them the truth about their first "meeting" with the man from Hong Kong, (leaving the guns and people dying parts out), relating how the two had became like brothers over time, and how he and his household had helped in Aki's recovery. Akihito explained to his friends how Feilong, Yoh and Tao were his family now.

What really rankled Akihito, however, was that after his two best friends had agreed to be friendly with Feilong and to try to get along with Asami was the loud cries in unison of "Bachelor party!" Akihito actually didn't want one, but his friends were making it impossible to say no.

Takato and Kou were so excited that their best friend was gonna get married to a billionaire. "Lucky bastard!" they both said together as they watched Akihito squirm.

Akihito's face turned to yet another newly discovered shade of red as his brow wrinkled. "I am not marrying Asami for his god damn money, you pair of idiot" he hissed. They both looked at each other, bursting out into a fit of laughter.

"Yeah, yeah, we know you're not. We've known you since you were five years old; we get it, we know you aren't that shallow. Ain't it just freakin' awesome how the one person in Tokyo who doesn't give two fucks and a fart about wealth, status and name dropping is the one who gets it all anyways."

Akihito sniggered, then started laughing. "Fine, so when is the big event?"

Takato said "As soon as your leg is sound. We're hoping by next weekend, or the weekend after at the latest." Akihito blushed at his words: was he really gonna marry Asami that quickly? This was why he wanted everything over and done with, so there was no time to overthink things. Wishing he could kick that boy's ass for disrupting his life, he started to feel like he was getting wound up. Kou placed a hand on Aki's shoulder, making him look up.

"Don't worry, Aki-chan, we are going to throw the bestest bachelor party ev-er" he crowed, feeling 'way too pleased at the prospect.

Akihito frowned. "All due respect, guys, but I feel the same way about this party as I do about Asami's money: I don't want any!" Akihito harrumphed, exasperated with his so-called "friends".

Akihito texted Asami exactly what everybody knew now about whom, and how his best friends were happy for him; so as soon as he could, Asami was to play nice with his boys, and contact Takato. As Takato and Kou were in the elevator heading down the the building's lobby, Takato's phone rang. When Asami introduced himself, Takato put his phone on speaker, and he and Kou explained about Aki's bachelor party, along with some of their ideas for it, and how they could maybe arrange a secret meeting with him about the wedding itself. Asami was too amused at this idea, but didn't want to be overheard on the phone in public, so he wanted to know if they could pop into Sion itself to have a little chat about it. Takato and Kou both agreed to come over that afternoon, the sooner the better, seeing as how they all knew Akihito would try and wiggle out of it. Asami agreed to a time and place to send one of his cars to pick the pair up. After that, Asami made some time in his schedule for the two friends; they were pleased with Asami's attitude, happy he wanted to give Akihito a bachelor party of his own.

Kou and Takato were summoned into the Presence of the Ever Charismatic Asami Ryuichi, in his throne room/office at Sion. As soon as Akihito texted, letting him know what everyone knew, he was satisfied. Kou and Takato sat speechless and overwhelmed, fidgeting with the drinks provided, waiting for the Almighty Asami to walk in. And boy, once he did, they were instantly aware of how sexy and dangerous he really was, and how Aki never stood a chance. In the hospital, most of the time when they saw him he was in a casual shirt and pants, relaxed, but they spent most of the time with Akihito as Asami would give them privacy and make himself scarce. But seeing Asami, here, even at his present 'minimum business' mode was quite imitating, to say the least. Asami was leaning against his desk, trying to be as cordial as he could, but he could tell they were nervous.

Takato, being Takato, gave a weak but a spirited attempt at warning Asami not to hurt Akihito, which made him smile and bite back a comment to the effect that since Akihito liked the ways in which he hurt him, how exactly WAS he allowed to hurt his kitten, just for future reference?

"I believe Akihito has told you that I proposed him." They both nodded. "Akihito has given me full rein of planning the events. I want you to both keep quiet: Akihito must not find out any details, all he knows is that we are going abroad." Akihito best friends relaxed a little more, now being included in the conspiracy. When Asami handed Takato a black credit card, he added "You may use this for the bachelor weekend. If Akihito asks, just say a beloved dragon gave it to you. It's a inside joke."

Then he handed them a business card with Kirishima's contact details on it, saying to coordinate with him when they've decided what all they're going to do, just give him the dates, destinations and details. Kou had taken the credit card out of Takato's hand and was literally drooling as he fanned himself with it playfully.

"Ah, what if we decide to use the card and buy instead, I don't know, a Lamborghini?" Kou asked, off handedly. "Well," Asami just gave a small shrug of his shoulders "nothing, personally" as he went to sit on his throne/in his office chair. "But I would, of course, mention how much fun you guys were having with the new toy you had asked me to buy you to Akihito, and I'd leave any punishment up to him" he finished with a smile like the devil himself. The two boys froze, not sure which threat to fear more.

Asami's snorted softly, and shook his head. "Look, if Akihito trusts you both, then that's good enough for me and mine, and I hope it can go both ways with you, too." The two lads looked at each other, and agreed. Before they left, they had also had agreed to take full advantage of the billionaire's fortune, and suggested a weekend away, north in the mountain somewhere. Besides them, Akihito obviously would want his family, a few university friends, Feilong, Yoh and Tao, as well as Asami and any of his friends, to make it a real boys weekend. Asami smiled, nodded in agreement and told them to arrange everything with Kirishima and whatever activities they could think of, to use the card to buy whatever they need.

Akihito was upset with Takato and Kou's reaction to the whole "Aki-chan's marrying a billionaire" part. He knew it was in just them teasing, but a part of him felt that if that's how they thought, then others who didn't know him would think that way, too. Akihito was worrying when he walked to his physio appointment. As he got within sight of the building, he had an idea. Deciding on a course of action, he changed his plans. Instead of going to physio, this was a good time to see if he could still ditch his bodyguards. The only hassle was the cane Asami gave him, it was needed only when he got physically tired. Akihito would start to limp, but the running felt good, even if the cane got in the way sometimes.

Akihito was pleased with himself when he rested against the wall, panting slightly out of breath. He ducked behind a bin as one of his guards, ran by, cursing loudly at losing a recuperating Akihito. Ha, it felt so good, he hadn't done it in a long while. Pulling out his phone, he called his physio team and explained that he couldn't make it in today, but he had already ran for twenty minutes today, and his leg was holding up, and he could come instead tomorrow if an appointment was available. As the call ended, and Akihito was in the clear, he started to limp a little as he headed towards the office of Kuroda Shinji.

Akihito sat nervously waiting for Kuroda Shinji in his outter office, chewing his lip: was this a good idea? He didn't know the relationship between Kuroda and Asami, and he was still being stubborn about asking Asami about it. He hated the smug look and that comment of "Jealous, Akihito?" He told himself he wasn't, but also he knew Kuroda held him in disdain, so was there something between the two men. Akihito was lost in thought when a cleared throat pulled him out of his musing. He realised that he been sitting, waiting for over forty minutes, when Kuroda walked in and saw him. He was successful in his field, and had the same aura of authority about him as Asami, but less intense. Akihito was, to tell the truth, a bit scared of him. He got the feeling he wasn't well liked for whatever reason; either that, or he was jealous of Akihito grabbing Asami first. Well, honestly, Asami had grabbed him first, but he'd leave those particular details for someone else to explain.

"Sensei Takaba, to what do I owe this pleasure" he asked, a little hesitation in his voice as he placed his brief case on his desk. Akihito squirmed in his chair slightly and lowered his eyes, his back was aching now as he started fiddling with his cane.

"Sorry to come in unannounced, but you know that Asami, I mean Ryuichi and I, we are getting married." Akihito blushed, looking up hopeful that Asami had mentioned it to him.

"Yes." Cold and hard came the reply.

"O-Okay, good, that makes it easier for me too, then, to ask a favour from you."

Kuroda laughed. And Akihito knew it was a condescending laugh. "A favour, from me. And why would I do you a favour?" Akihito was starting to get somewhat pissed with this guy's attitude.

"Well, the favour isn't for me, it's actually for Ryuichi. I need for you also not to mention this meeting to him; you'll understand why.". Akihito sat up straight in his chair, giving Kuroda his best glare to prove he was serious.

"Well then, Takaba, I am listening" Kuroda said, leaning back against his chair.

Asami was pleased with how the meeting with Akihito's friends went. They didn't trust him, not fully, which made very good sense to him. It showed common sense and the self-preservation instinct that his lover lacked. They seemed unaffected with using his money, (again, unlike his Akihito), which also made sense. By the time they had left, there was a rough plan in place for Kou and Takato to take charge of planning a three day weekend bachelor party. He knew this was going to be a boys weekend away, which would do Akihito a great benefit after his recovery and rigorous physio treatments.

Asami knew it was Akihito's stubbornness that made him overdo his sessions. He seemed desperate to get back to his pre injury agility. Asami would agree not having their usual daily sexual collisions with Akihito was starting to get stressful for both of them. He hadn't risked even touching him, except for that one time in the hospital when Akihito was fed up, had decided to leave early, and pushed Asami to overreact. Asami had made a promise to himself he wasn't going to be baited by Akihito like that any time soon again.

It's been over a week since Izaya cross-dressed and pretended to be a "sexy" nurse called Patricia that came especially to "take care" of Akihito. Asami nearly had an aneurysm, just thinking about it again; but today Akihito declared he was coming home. He had been cranky for the last forty-eight hours, and Asami assumed it was the hospital stay. Missing his kitten, he had almost decided to let Akihito come home early, even against medical advice.

"I won't break, Asami" Akihito huffed, rolling his eyes. "I'm almost as good as new." Akihito's left leg was still slightly stiffer than his right, but for the most part, Akihito was fine. Except for the slightest limp, when he was tired or had pushed himself too hard, but it was still much better than expected.

When Asami entered the hospital room, he was dressed in his street clothes and was already packing his bag; he'd had enough of the hospital. Asami, the great business tycoon and Yakuza street fighting strategist, had then pulled a major bonehead move, and let slip his thought that Akihito should just give his job up, and let the tall, protective alpha male look after him. That blunder had been twenty long, excruciatingly silent minutes ago. Akihito wasn't looking at, much less talking to Asami, which concerned him greatly. Asami preferred his angry wildcat spitting and hissing.

Asami sighed quietly and broke the silence first. "Akihito, I…" Akihito stood up straight, turned his head and tilted his chin up to glare Asami straight in the eyes. Gracefully, Akihito turned to face him full on, fury coming off the blond in waves, all focused right at Asami.

Akihito took a step forward towards Asami, who took a step back, just like the first time they had met after Akihito's class at the university. Akihito's aura was burning, and seemed to be spitting brimstone. As Asami took in Akihito, he could swear his eyes were flickering with blue fire. That thought alone actually turned him on.

Before he knew it, he had been backed against a wall again, and like before, Akihito was in his space, pushing his knee between Asami's thighs and gently ground it against Asami. Akihito leaned up to Asami's ear. "Just… don't... just don't... speak to me... Understand this, my Ryuichi, I will not tell you to give your damn job up. If you ever speak like that to me again, I will walk out that door, and never come back."

Akihito pulled away and locked his angry glare with Asami's. Akihito's eyes, filled with his icy blue flames, melted Asami's golden orbs. Akihito's hand slowly moved into Asami's hair and grabbing a large handful, yanking furiously, making Asami hiss. He bent in to kiss Asami and caressed his lips with the words "Just because I let you dominate me in the bedroom, doesn't mean you own mmmh" was the last thing Akihito said before Asami grabbed Akihito's waist, carefully avoiding the wound, just firmly enough to grind his hip on Akihito's, and bit his neck with a dominating bite.

Asami pushed off the wall, guiding Akihito backward to the hospital bed. He lifted Akihito up, and sat him down on the mattress. Staring into his Akihito's eyes, he knew he loved Akihito at the best of times, but when he was furious, he was exquisite. Asami's mouth watered at the thought of what was going to happen. Yes, Akihito meant every word he said, but he needed to be reminded who Asami was when he got pushed.

"Mmmh... Akihito, should we see how long you can..." was the last thing Asami said before Akihito nipped his lip hard. "Enough talking. Now show me what you're really damn good at" he demanded.

Akihito's pants were pulled off in one quick movement as he was forcefully rolled onto his stomach over one of his pillows, moved over to protect him against the hard side of the bed frame. He kept his large hand firmly around the back of the blond's neck, controlling his movements.

Asami was lusting to be buried deep inside his wildcat, but his mind was still on Akihito's wounded back. Asami licked up Akihito's spine in one long swipe, up to his neck while his other hand gently caressed his boy's ass cheeks. As he bit Akihito on his shoulder, he thrusts two digits against Akihito mouth "Now, suck" he ordered. Akihito did as he was told, sucking and wrapping his tongue around and in between the fingers as much as he could salivate, moaning softly. Asami pulled his fingers from Akihito's mouth and started to softly push against the whorled entrance, stroking and massaging it gently, feeling it clench as Akihito's body tensed and shuddered with his pants and moans. Using both fingers, he starts to caress and rub with them independently, teasing his Akihito into a breathless whine as he tried to buck his hips. That ended in a sharp gasp of pain as his lower back muscles spasmed and lock up around the wounded area. This decided it for Asami: he wouldn't cause more damage by roughly fucking his lover the way he so very much wanted to. Instead, he released the boy's neck, and carefully rubbed his hands in the general area of the would, feeling Akihito's back slowly unclench as he continued his ministrations.

Grunting, Asami removed one hand to get himself out of his constricting pants and restrictive boxers. Then he unbuttoned his shirt, leaving it to hang open off his shoulders and over his powerful chest and stomach muscles. Shifting an arm around Akihito, he cradled his back gently against the front of him as he lifted himself onto the hospital bed, laying his lover back on top of him, arranging his arms and legs carefully.

Asami licked and bit his ear shell as he inhaled Akihito's scent from his hair. Using both hands to roams his lover's chest, he played with his nipples, pinching and rubbing over the sensitive peaks, making the blond start to move against him with soft gasps. He placed two fingers from his other hand against tender lips, brushing against the flushed pink flesh and teasing the sensitive nerve endings, until his boy opened his mouth, breathing hard, granting Asami entrance. Again, the boy's dexterous tongue went to work on his fingers, licking and sucking enough to distract Asami with images and memories of what that talented tongue could do, and where. Leaving Akihito's chest, his strong hand trailed down, down past his navel, into the groove where his leg joined his hip, and over to his pelvis, partially curling around the boy's half hard cock and balls. He started massaging around the muscles in that area, making the blond groan as he tossed his head back and flexed his body against the bigger man. Taking the moistened fingers out of his mouth, Asami once more lay siege with them to his lover's responsive entry. Rubbing one finger pad around the rim, he slowly circled his finger inside, dipping shallowly in and out several times before pushing the finger past the tight ring of muscles and inside the hot channel, moving it in and out of his body. As he did this, Asami was still working Akihito's neck and shoulder with his tongue and teeth. As his Akihito gasped and writhed against him, he introduced the second digit, moving and twisting them about before he pushed them deeper into his body. Asami bit his shoulder firmly, then kissed over where he bit, as he started working his fingers around inside of his fierce wildcat.

With a lust-filled voice, Asami whispered into the ear he was nuzzling "Akihito, I don't want to harm you further, but I will hear you moan for me", nipping and sucking harder on his neck and and shoulder as he slowly rubbed around the nub of nerve endings inside the boy that sent lighting strikes ripping up his kitten's spine.

"Fuck Ryuichi... just fuck me, that's what I want. Long, and hard." Akihito gasped out as he slowly met every finger thrust. It had been over a week since they last fucked, and he loved feeling Asami's long, strong fingers twisting inside him. Asami's cock had been rubbing against Akihito's thigh when the boy heard "Kitten" breathed into his ear as the other hand grasped his cock and started to stroke him as his fingers slowly worked their way in deeper. Akihito arched his back with a silent wail.

Twisting his hand as he pumped quicker, Asami turned them both carefully onto their side as he worked his body upwards to align their cocks, then wrapped his hand around them both. Still working his fingers inside his boy, he finally played with his prostate, causing thrashing and loud groans.

"So fucking tight, baby" he hissed as he kissed partway down between Akihito's shoulder blades, one hand wrapped around to the front of Akihito, firmly working their cocks together as he quickened stroking his hand back and forth, while trying not to ram his fingers into his lover with his other hand.

"I'm cu-cumming, Ryu" he croaked out. Then Akihito started seeing stars, his mind going blank, and everything blazed white. With that, Akihito clasped around Asami's fingers so hard he swore he could feel the finger joints crack. As Akihito's panted and seized up against him, his cum leaking out around Asami's hand, making his cock nice and slick, letting him cum soon after. He breathed out "Akihito" again as he rested his head on his lover's shoulder, slowly feeling the orgasm fade as Asami kissed Akihito softly on the back of his neck.

His breathing returned to normal, he got up and fetched a damp cloth as Akihito was still lying on his side, spent and unconscious. Asami cleaned them both up, and slipped Akihito into a clean hospital clothes while he was still out of it (probably due to his pain medication as well as the exercise), and carefully picked Akihito up and placed him properly on the bed, lying him down to nap, and tucked him in.

Asami was actually feeling revitalized. And yes, he could see where he'd been a little too overprotective with Akihito, so when he actually suggested leaving his job at the university, WOW. Akihito couldn't have been more erotic, the fire he loved in his eyes had burned even brighter than before. 'Fuck, I need to see more of that'; however, the threat he made to leave completely pissed Asami off.

Either Akihito had finally found his weakness, or else he just wanted to rile Asami up enough to fuck him, which in both cases, had worked. Looking at his now sleeping Akihito, he noticed he was still wearing his half of their cuffs, so he guessed that most likely he was bluffing. Or, perhaps, he would play it safe, and never have to find out. Akihito had apparently realised that in a Dom/sub relationship, the one who had the most power was the sub; but, he was also right: outside the bedroom, they were partners. Asami guessed he should start acting like it, then.

Since the stabbing had delayed the wedding for about six weeks while Akihito made a hopefully full recovery, he had arranged for Kou and Takato to come to the hospital so they could maybe have some fun while waiting for Akihito to heal, all the while keeping him occupied, and out of trouble.

Akihito had been losing it lately, being both hospitalized and in rehab. Akihito had told Asami not to tell anyone after being scolded by Feilong he didn't want to hear it from his family and friends as well. But after trying to leave on his own Asami decided it was only right to tell his friends Asami informed his best best friends and asked if they could inform his family, so he would avoid that whole can of worms himself. Akihito had reluctantly agreed to their visit, but on condition that he wasn't going to tell them about the wedding, not yet. He wanted them to get to know Asami first, then after he'd left the hospital he would tell them, and by the end of the same day, everyone would know.

When Kou and Takato arrived for their first visit, they were beyond annoyed that Akihito had not wanted to say anything AGAIN, but after hearing the details of the incident, they soon forgave him, again. Asami mostly left the boys alone when they came by, little more than exchanging pleasantries with them, then checking to see if his kitten needed anything before he left. He even dialed down his intimidating "Grim Reaper" aura. This made Akihito giggle: Asami looked more like a straight laced, (albeit hot as hell), salary man, not the bad ass Yakuza boss that ruled Japan with a firm grip.

However, Asami's biggest problem today was not dealing with another dirty politician, or yet another wannabe gang leader pretending to have power than he had, nor even small time illegal business dealings cutting into his territory. No, Asami's biggest challenge today was dealing with Feilong, Yoh, Tao, and Akihito, in what the blond had declared as "an Evening Out for a Family Dinner".

Asami felt he must have been out of his mind to even entertain the idea to acknowledge Feilong as part of his lover's family, but Akihito had quite a "persuasive" mouth on him, and Asami nearly always had a problem saying no to Akihito at the best of times.

Flash back:

Asami had not left Akihito's sidein three whole days, for what he considered three very good reasons:

1). Izaya

2). Akihito's health and comfort; and, of course,

3). Izaya

Akihito was coming to terms with the knife wound, and a remote possibility of walking with a limp. Asami didn't care personally, he just wanted his lover's heart to keep on beating. Akihito had asked Asami to phone Feilong for him as he had usually phoned everyday, but lately, for SOME reason, he had started to slip to every three days or so. This close contact vexed Asami deeply, but to him, the delay between calls meant that he was weening himself off of Feilong's influence, so he just huffed and said it wasn't a problem.

Akihito was sleeping when Asami made the call from his lover's phone. He knew he could have done it at the office, but Asami wasn't ready to leave Akihito's side, not just yet. He listened as the phone on the other end rang several times before it was answered.

"Aki, hello, it's been a while. Well, how is everything." He could tell the smooth and silky voice was excited getting the call.

"Sorry to disappoint, but this is Asami" he replied, using his controlled "business as usual" voice.

"Asami, why do you have Akihito's phone." Feilong sounded somewhat peeved and slightly concerned.

"Well...", he hesitated a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose, as Feilong wasn't known for tightly controlling of his emotions where himself or Akihito was concerned. So, bracing himself, Asami continued. "I'm phoning you as a favour to Akihito." Asami tried to stay detached, but found himself clearing in his throat as Feilong remained silent.

"Feilong, Akihito was at the university three days ago, and he was involved in another incident", he hesitated as the words caught in his throat. "He was stabbed." He mentally braced himself for what's sure to be a major eruption of Mount Feilong.

"Akihito was… stabbed...? My little Aki was stabbed" Feilong's voice started to tremble from a build up of anger he was desperately trying to contain.

"Akihito is fine." Asami could feel the tension building over the phone. Asami continued on, hoping the more information he provided, the more it would distract the Baishe leader, and might help to calm him. He winced as he repeated the words the attending physician gave him when he had first arrived at the hospital.

"Akihito was stabbed on the lower right side of his back. The knife didn't puncture any vital organs, and it was a clean wound. He did, however, lose a fair amount of blood." Asami sighed as he hesitated slightly. Feilong noticed this and it concerned him more as Asami never, ever hesitated.

"The knife entered his lower back near his spinal cord. He isn't paralyzed, but one of his legs has a sluggish response, and the doctors have said once Akihito starts physio and regularly exercising again, he should make a full recovery." Asami and Feilong did not speak for what felt like too long a period. Then Feilong let a slow breath out and started to talk.

"Three years. Asami, three. Years. He was with me, and not a scratch on him. He went back to Tokyo without you being aware for six months, and he was thriving. I leave him with you, for what, five bloody minutes and he got arrested for assaulting someone WHO ATTACKED HIM, and now he gets stabbed. What the hell is wrong with you." Feilong voice was getting more intense and louder with every word.

"Three. Years, Ryuichi." Shit, that wasn't a good sign. "Three years I kept him safe. And what, you, the "Emperor of Japan", can barely even keep him alive? How in the hell should you have the right to fucking marry him." Feilong's words stung. From habit, his chest momentarily constricted at the thought that Feilong knew of their plans. Well, he shouldn't really be surprised as Akihito told him everything.

"So, should I come and bring him home to save him from your incompetent ass? Because so far, you are doing a less than stellar job." There was a silent pause. Asami was about to say something when Feilong continued his rant.

"Some great crime lord you turned out to be, nearly losing your empire to two fucking nobodies; and Akihito, who loves you, YOU unconditionally, may now be unable to walk unhindered due to your inability to keep the only person in Tokyo you need fucking safe. I should… I should come and put a bullet in you like I would for any of my men who showed such incompetence." Feilong was seething, breathing hard after his outburst.

"Feilong", Asami's voice was an octave lower than usual, and sounded clipped. "I will let your outburst slide today as you are in shock and angry over Akihito, but do not ever threatened me again by saying your taking what is most definitely mine or saying you'll shoot me."

Feilong snorted at the other end of the phone. "I will do as I please to protect Akihito; do not underestimate my desire to keep that boy safe. We will be arriving in five hours." Asami just scrunched his eyes closed in defeat.

"Fine. Akihito is at Tokyo General. Kirishima will send you the directions; we will be waiting." Asami started to chuckle

"What is so amusing, Asami" the Chinese man growled.

"Akihito once called us his "pets". I think the kitten actually has a more serious problem of being beloved by dragons." Feilong chuckled as well, his anger subsiding slightly.

"I think you may be correct in that statement." With that, he ended the call.

Akihito was awake as he heard the 'beloved by dragons' part. "I take it that went well" Akihito sighed, his voice quiet. Asami smiled and walked over to his bed side.

"Was that why you ask me to do this? You were scared of Feilong's reaction?" ha asked, stroking Akihito's cheek.

"Hey, you didn't want to tell him either, so what's your excuse, you big, scary dragon, you" Akihito chuckled, and melted in Asami's hand. He leaned down and started to kiss Akihito, but not as feverishly as he wanted to, due to his being high on meds and still somewhat weak from the blood loss.

"Feilong will be here in five hours, so you can face his wrath then." Asami smirked in satisfaction. Akihito maybe have been groggy, but he was getting irritated.

"Fine then, and you wont mind them staying at the penthouse while they visit." THAT wiped the smirk clean off his face.

Akihito smiled as he won that argument. Asami kissed him again before sitting on the bed to hold him close. Feilong's words still unsettled Asami: "take him back"; and the only one in Tokyo I had to keep safe. Asami felt his heart beat faster at how close Akihito had came to death; it was his fault, again. Akihito shifted slightly as Asami was holding on too tightly. Feilong must have really taken a strip off of him. "Ryuichi."

"Hmm?" was the response he got.

"This wasn't your fault, this was a random incident; you cannot always protect me. If I actually thought I was in danger, I would have killed that son of a bitch before he got near me. This is my fault, and Feilong will blame me as soon as he gets here. He trained me to watch for situations like that." Akihito shifted carefully so his head rested on Asami's shoulder. "Feilong only said those things 'cause he's angry and blames himself." Asami seemed to pause in thought, and Akihito kissed Asami's neck.

"This was no one's fault except my own. I should have been more aware of my surroundings." Asami kissed Akihito's head.

"Okay, Akihito."

If Asami was like a Shinigami when he entered the hospital, then Feilong was The Shadow of Death as he glided along the hallway into the private hospital room. As always, he wore a striking silk cheongsam, his long black silky hair flowing down his back. Always so elegant, he walked past Asami without even acknowledging him. Close on his heels, Tao glanced up at Asami with worried eyes while Yoh nodded to him as they followed. Akihito was sitting up in bed as he didn't want Feilong to worry and start blaming Asami again.

Feilong sat too close, stroking Akihito's hair for Asami's liking. It took everything Asami had not to pull him off Akihito there and then. Yoh stood behind Feilong, talking quietly, and Tao was in Feilong's spot, arms around Akihito as soon as he moved. Tao was wiping away a stray tear as Akihito rolled his eyes at Feilong, holding onto the boy. "How are you, Aki?" Feilong asked with total concern in his voice. Akihito waited 'til Tao calmed before answering. "I'm pretty good, actually. It wasn't as bad as people were making it out to be" he answered, giving Asami a glare.

Asami had been watching everything, bemused: his craftiest, bitterest rival, who had plotted to take him down and disrupt Sion for seven years, the man who single-mindedly rebuilt and lead Baishe, was alone in a foreign hospital room, along with both the number two person in the Triad, and his protégé, had his back to, and totally ignored the presence of Asami Ryuichi. The interaction between his fiancé and Tao, Feilong, even the stoic Yoh was as if they were a… family. It was dawning on him that in three years Akihito had changed for the better, but his connection with Feilong was not a mere causal relationship, all of them had bonded.

Asami might have to change his view on Feilong. He wasn't here as an enemy, he was a family member that could slit your throat in the dead of night, or maybe wait until after lunch. Akihito was laughing happily, it felt homey. Akihito could apparently elicit loyalty from anyone. Asami was so proud of Akihito, and knowing this boy belonged to him was gratifying, even if it did mean including the Baishe leader and cohorts, ahem, his new family.

Beloved by dragons, indeed.

The knock on his office door pulled Asami out of his thoughts. He stood up to get drinks when Feilong entered the room, Kirishima and Yoh following him in, talking between themselves. Asami chuckled as he poured the drinks. Feilong, as always, had walked in and sat down on one of the couch as if he owned the place. Asami sat on the couch opposite him, smirked and lifted the drink to his lips.

Feilong smiled, amused, and sipped his drink. After the warm liquid burned down his throat, he said "So, shall we start the negotiations on uniting both Baishe and Sion as the Dragons of Asia?"

T.B.C.


	19. 19 kitten's & Dragon's

Restart...

Chapter 19: kitten & Dragon's.

Akihito finally left prosecutor Kuroda Shinji's office. He thought back to the long, detailed conversation they had, belatedly wondering if it was such a good idea to involve someone so close to Asami, but it was a little too late to worry about it now. His leg was starting to ache from losing his bodyguards earlier, then sitting down for an extended time in the office, causing him to have a slight limp in his step. The nagging ache slowly grew past discomfort and bloomed into pain. It was starting to become too much, causing Akihito to squint an eye shut with the effort of taking each step. Because he was concentrating on moving his leg, he didn't notice someone sitting at the side of the road right in front of him. Stumbling over the mystery man, he floundered about, trying to keep his balance, only to cause himself more pain as his leg cramped up. As Akihito was about to start swearing, he froze as the man whom he tripped over started growling. A shiver ran down his spine from the sheer amount of murderous intent in the sound.

Quickly, he bowed and apologised repeatedly, now too sore and tired to scrap. A hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to shy away from the contact. His eyes widened when he heard a familiar friendly voice: "Akihito, you can stop apologising now. Everything is a-okay~".

Akihito visibly relaxed as he rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm truly sorry about that, Carl. I should have been paying attention to where I was going… Uh, why were you sitting at the edge of the sidewalk anyway?" He saw Carl stiffen as a distressed look came over the once care-free face, causing him to become more concerned. Akihito quickly came up with an idea to cheer his new best friend up. A sweet smile made it's way onto his face. "How about we talk about this over something to drink at a place nearby that I'm sure you'll like?" It would also be the perfect opportunity to rest his leg.

They arrived at the café, and Carl's eyes widened in surprise. Carl saw cats laying everywhere. On the tables, on the floor, some were either playing with each other or by themselves with a ball of yarn, while others were just lazing around staring at the newcomers with watchful eyes. He was totally entranced with the volume of fluffy cuteness that was in this one small cafè, and he didn't even realise that Akihito had already steered them to a table. He felt himself yearning to roll around among the cats surrounding them as they took their seats.

"Go ahead –" Akihito began to say, as if reading his mind "It's a cat café. I'm sure nobody would mind if you –" Akihito stopped short when he noticed a large, solid-looking cat get up and amble towards them. The cat had nice silky black fur and contrasting red eyes that looked interested in Carl's lap. Carl let a out an "oomph" of surprise when the cat suddenly jumped into his lap and curled up into a fuzzy ball. Carl hesitantly ran his fingers through the cat's fur… and was positively gleeful when he heard the cat purr in satisfaction. Akihito nursed his warm drink while he asked once again why Carl was sitting next to the side of the road.

Carl sighed but continued to run his fingers gently through the cat's fur. "You see, some corporation bought the building I was living in. We were all given a seven day notice to vacate the premises. I've been looking for somewhere to live but had no luck, and today was my last day. It would be a futile fight, a small hardworking nobody like me against the supreme overlord and CEO of Sion; I'd have no chance of winning." Carl just let out a bitter laugh, but noticing Akihito's face, he pulled up a strained smile that Akihito could easily see through. "But no need to worry, dear friend! I can easily get a second job and find somewhere to sleep." Akihito couldn't help but be unpleasantly surprised over hearing his fiancé's name being mentioned in connection to this unfortunate turn of events.

Akihito took Carl's unoccupied hand in his and gave it a little squeeze of reassurance. Carl shifted his gaze upward to meet his friend's face. "Look, I am staying with my fiancé at the moment, so my assigned house isn't being used, and it's near the University. You're quite welcome to stay there until you are back on your feet." Izaya was honestly surprised at the proposal. People weren't this genuinely nice to him, whether he was in one of his personas or not. Quickly going back into character, he fought to keep a real smile from making it onto his face while he put on a fake unsure expression instead. "Only if you're sure, Akihito. I don't want to be a burden…" Akihito just gave him a reassuring smile.

"I have physio for the next few weeks, then I'll be gone on my honeymoon, so you can stay for as long as you need, okay? Oh! Also, I would like it if you could come to both my bachelor party and wedding as well. "

Carl sent him a teasing grin, causing Akihito to blush. "I would be honored. Thank you very much!" he said, and bowed his head.

Carl and Akihito had met up many times as they both work at the university in the same department area, and they got on pretty well. But, again, Izaya couldn't understand how someone could just be so generous. They sat, Akihito relaxing his tense leg muscles as he sipped his coffee while Carl enjoyed hot chocolate, still contentedly petting a purring puddle of fur, in a companionable silence. Carl made a noise of realization, causing Akihito's eyebrows to rise. "How's your injury? I've been thinking about you for a while now..." Akihito was confused on how he knew about the injury when he suddenly made certain connections.

Turning his head to the side, he spat out the mouthful coffee that he just sipped. "Oh my god, you're the one to who practically saved my life! Thank you so much for helping!"

A blush appeared on Carl's face as he nervously laughed. "It was nothing really; I couldn't just leave you there bleeding. I'm just glad you're okay." Akihito started explaining what happened and who he thought stabbed him, then finished with how he was now going to physio treatment. Akihito was smiling happily when out of nowhere he announced "Wow, I feel like we've known each other forever." A sly look slid onto Carl's face as he thought about that sentence. 'If only he knew'; he almost choked on his hot chocolate with Akihito's next sentence: "We're just like family."

Akihito took his keys out of his pocket and placed his university house key on the table, and pushed it towards Carl. They exchanged phone numbers, and Akihito texted him a note with his house address. Akihito asked if he would like some help moving some of his things before he left, apologizing that he couldn't be able to help out tonight as he had a family gathering at the Teito Hotel. Akihito felt a little guilty that he wasn't able to do more.

Carl just gave him a small smile. "No, you've done more than enough. You really are too kind~."

Akihito shrugged, a bit embarrassed at the praise, and as he left the café he called over his shoulder "If you need anything give me a ring; no matter what time it is, and I'll be there for you."

Akihito then tried to head quickly towards the hotel where he was going to meet Feilong. It was getting pretty late; he hadn't realised how long he had spent mindlessly chatting with Carl. But Akihito was tiring fast when he finally stopped to text Feilong that he was getting tired from a busy day out and needed to rest before dinner later tonight, so he had to cancel their visit and profusely apologised. Feilong was as understanding as usual with his Aki, and recommended Akihito contact his bodyguards to get him some transportation home for a quick rest.

Asami was not looking forward to this evening, not one bit. This was Akihito's idea of bonding, so why the hell had he even agree to this? Asami shook his head as he held it in his hands. When he left Akihito this morning, he felt so reluctant about meeting up with the Hong Kong side of the family, today was the first time he hadn't accompanied his boy to one of the physio sessions. Akihito always pushed himself too hard, as far as Asami was concerned, and needed him to curb his enthusiasm lest he strain his leg or tire himself out. But the determined spark in his eyes… well, frankly, it was a huge turn on. It had been a few weeks since the stabbing and Akihito was actually doing quite well, all things considered.

Asami had started the day at the office as usual, and luckily he only had few business meetings to attend to, then mostly just paper work to finish before he had to head home to meet up at the penthouse with the blond, a shower and a change of clothes, then go to the restaurant tonight around 8 p.m.

The knock on his office door pulled Asami out of his thoughts. He stood up to get drinks ready as Feilong entered the room; Kirishima and Yoh following him in, talking between themselves. Asami chuckled as he poured the drinks. Feilong, as always, had walked in and sat down on one of the couches as if he owned the place. Asami sat on the couch opposite him, smirked and lifted the drink to his lips.

Feilong smiled in amusement, and sipped his bourbon. After the warm liquid burned down his throat, he said "So, shall we start the negotiations on uniting both Baishe and Sion as the Dragons of Asia?"

Feilong was, as usual, quick off the mark, and they had negotiated an equitable deal between his Sion and the Baishe in an amazingly short amount of time. This type of underworld merger was unheard of, at least without shell casings, spilled blood and a lot of corpses, but together they would be a force to be reckoned with. Feilong mentioned needing help dealing with a small but annoyingly reoccurring problem name Mikhail as a possible first joint venture. After a few moments of thought Asami offered a unique solution to Feilong's problem; Akihito would have to agree to play a big part in it, so all of them would need to talk about it further.

Asami was quietly relieved when Feilong finally left, but his relief was short lived when he remembered he was going to see him later at dinner that night, and thought 'If I have to have a family dinner with them, I'm going to need some rather serious "relaxation" just to get to sleep later'. He cringed at the thought of the words "family" and "Feilong" in the same sentence. A more appealing idea flickered in his mind, and in spite of himself, he grinned.

"I, am a genius" he modestly chuckled as he made his way to his desk and pushed a speed dial button on his office phone. "Kirishima, book a suite at the hotel for Akihito and I for tonight." The up side of the evening would be they could go straight to their room after the dinner and enjoy their own tasty "dessert"… This improved Asami's mood immensely. He started to think about excusing themselves a soon as dinner and drinks were over, whisking his sexy blond upstairs and fucking the daylights out of him after he let his kitten ride him as a warm up. It had been a few weeks since they'd last had that pleasure, after all.

One of his later meetings was more aggravating and ran longer than expected, but Asami was still in a good mood without having to dispose of any bodies. He texted Akihito to go ahead with Feilong and company instead of waiting for him at the penthouse, and he would meet him at the restaurant. Asami became mildly pissed as he realised his earlier plan of catching a certain blond boy wet and naked in the shower before going to the restaurant was not going to happen now, but he contented himself with the thought of Akihito's face when he surprised him with their accommodations for tonight, making him feel slightly better.

As Kirishima booked a suite at the hotel for them (as far away from Feilong's entourage as possible), Asami concerned himself with reading over his lover's daily surveillance report, frowning that Akihito had requested a car to take him home from a part of the city nowhere near the physio clinic where he should have been going, and that he had also cancelled on Feilong. Asami was wondering what his kitten was up to, first ditching his security team, then reappearing much later needing their help to go home, but he had one last meeting which needed his personal, undivided attention. Cursing, Asami was once more back in a foul mood.

T.B.C...

***Bonus Bit***

Izaya shenanigans

Izaya: You know what I've been wondering? How do tall people like you actually sleep at night when the blanket can't possibly cover you from your shoulders to your toes?

Asami: Izaya, it's 3 in the morning...

Izaya: So you can't sleep, huh...?

Izaya: Is it because of the blanket...?

Asami: Get out of my bedroom


	20. 20 family dinner

Restart:

Chapter 20: FAMILY DINNER

As the limo pulled up outside the luxury hotel, Kirishima stepped up to open the rear door for Asami to exit the car. Stepping out into the cool fresh evening air, he gave a quick nod as the car door shut behind him and the limo pulled away. Asami paused for a moment to look up at the magnificent hotel before him as he buttoned his jacket close.

Kirishima waited patiently for Asami to move towards the entrance. Even though they were both still for only a few seconds, they are already attracting stares and whispers from people passing by 'cause even if Kirishima hated to admit it, they both looked as if they stepped out of a photo spread for GQ magazine.

Asami was wearing his deep navy blue three piece suit that hugged his body so perfectly people were now openly stopping to admire the view, and quiet murmurs of "Who are they?" and a few quiet moans followed them as they made their way to the hotel lobby.

Kirishima had made a reservation for an exclusive private table located discreetly away from other guests as he and Akihito didn't want people to overhear any details of this cozy gathering between the CEO of Sion with the head of Baishe and his adopted son, along with his own ex employee and who knew how many guards... Resisting rolling his eyes, his mind wandered off to how did all this happen... 'Oh, argh, yes, all thanks to his adorable Akihito. And why am I doing all this again? Oh yes, of course, for my sweet little kitten, Akihito. If Akihito wasn't so cute, and if I wouldn't be pounding his tight little ass hard later, I wouldn't be doing any of this ridiculous shit' he thought as he entered the most exclusive dining room in Tokyo, looking cool and killer suave as fuck.

Asami glanced at his Omega Seamaster Professional as the warm air of the hotel wrapped around him. Luckily, he was only a fashionable fifteen minutes late, so hopefully The Wife wouldn't be too upset with him; which in itself warranted a smirk. If Akihito only knew he was already being referred to as The Wife in certain company, he felt confident that his little blond lover would try to murder him until he was dead. No doubt cheered on by his pet diva Feilong, also fondly known in the same circles as the Drama Queen. Hopefully, His Majesty wouldn't be too annoyed about when he arrived. Even if that particular little meltdown would probably amuse him enough that he could endure the rest of the evening with them tolerably well.

Asami leaned in toward Kirishima and quietly informed his friend "Kei, I just want you to know, I'm blaming you if I get in trouble with The Wife and The Inlaws for being late" and flashed him a sardonic smile as Suoh joined them.

Calmly pushing up his glasses with his extended middle finger, Kirishima responded with a polite "Of course, Asami-sama", almost hiding the sarcastic tone as Suoh quietly sniggered into his meaty fist.

The maître d' came over, all smiles, showing Asami as well as his two body guards and friends to their respected tables. Asami already could hear Akihito's laugh; hopefully that was a good sign of things to come.

Feilong and Tao were busy talking and laughing with his lover and Yoh when Asami arrived at the table. Feilong and Yoh smiled as Tao and Akihito started trash talking about the other's gaming prowess. Asami discretely cleared his throat to get their attention; Akihito looked up and swallowed convulsively while he checked out Asami up and down where he stood. Why did he always look so god damn bloody sexy... Akihito stood up to kiss Asami on his cheek while one of his hands sneaked down around to pinch a different one. "Miss me?" a pleased Asami purred as he nodded at the other guests at the table.

"Not really... we were having a pleasantly delightful evening, but now it's all gonna go to shit" Aki snarked as he stuck out his tongue, then went to retake his seat.

Asami tsked. "Really, Akihito?" he reproached as he opened his jacket button, then took the free seat between Yoh and Akihito. Feilong's dark eyes danced and Tao laughed. Akihito smiled his brightest smile as he got comfortable again, and that alone made Asami think any aggravation tonight might be worth it. Whatever else may happen, he had the bonus of having booked one of the lavish suites up stairs as a surprise; so as soon as dinner was finished, he and his kitten would be indulging in their own type of "dessert".

Akihito started up the bickering with Tao again over whether or not the younger boy had the crazy madd skillz to make it half way through LEGO Harry Potter on his own, and the long forgotten feelings of "family" slowly washed over the older men at the table. Akihito was busy telling Feilong and Tao what had been happening lately at physio as Asami started to feel... comfortable, almost relaxed. Akihito was his usual energetic self again and thoughts of his injury seemed long forgotten. Asami smiled, and thought wryly 'let the evening's dinner entertainment begin'.

Kirishima and Souh sat at a nearby table, trying not to look like bodyguards (difficult for Suoh, granted). The two contrastingly striking men at the table would distract any curious onlookers while blocking the view of the group behind them. They also saw a few of Feilong's men sprinkled around the dining room and exchanged nods with them. Asami had told them they could have carte blanche tonight of his private wine and liquor reserves and personal cigar humidor kept on the premises as a bonus, so to speak, for their hard work "above and beyond" over the last few weeks. Over end of day drinks at Sion, soon after the "celebration" had been decreed by Akihito, Kei had jokingly accused Asami of having a case of sour grapes: if he had to attend the family dinner, then everyone else had to suffer too. To which Asami gave them both a smug look, and replied in a very good American Southern drawl "If'n Big Brother ain't happy, ain't nobody happy."

From where Asami sat opposite the leader of Baishe, they both had the ability to scan the open floor plan of the dining room, as well as watch the immediate area around their table. After enjoying a sip of his own private Glenmorangie Signet single malt whiskey, Asami's mind wandered a bit as his eyes flicked up and he momentarily tensed seeing Feilong seated at the table. After seven long years of bad blood, strategic "worst case scenario" planning and dramatic oneupmanship in a struggle for underworld dominance, these leftover unpleasant little starts were really becoming annoying. He caught Yoh watching him quietly, then saw him turn his attention for a moment back to Feilong. He must be having the same symptoms of withdrawal from their past deadly games as well: as Feilong was imbibing some of his preferred A. H. Hirsch Reserve bourbon, his eyes came up, slid across Tao and Akihito', and flared momentarily when they came to rest on himself. As the triad leader looked away, Asami almost missed the minute tensing of Feilong's hand around his glass before he relaxed again. Yoh glanced back at him, and gave him a knowing smile. This, more than anything, brought into sharp focus what their new reality would be. Both leaders would have to abandon their long held distrust, bitterness and dictatorial ways of thinking if both of their households and businesses were going to not only survive this merging, but flourish together. Asami internally sighed as he took another drink, allowing the flavors of the whiskey to roll over his tongue before swallowing. It wasn't that he didn't like Feilong personally, he honestly respected him. Asami also still found him very attractive physically, his mental agility was alway a formidable challenge, and his ability to emerge from personal tragedy and prison to rebuild Baishe from the ashes, then to take it further and make it far exceed anything his adoptive family had ever achieved proved his strength of will and business acumen was without question. It was simply that Feilong had the unfortunate habit of mixing his business and his personal life together; so much so that sometimes while in the midst of business negotiations, he was more emotional then he should be, and then the meeting would ran over its allotted time as he had to listen to Feilong rant over whatever was bothering him. Asami almost wondered if Feilong thought he was his councillor more than a business colleague/rival. That made Asami stop for a moment: was it because of their first meeting, when he helped galvanize Feilong to move away from his family's influence and become his own man that Feilong already felt in some small way like he was a mentor, possibly an unconscious replacement for his miserable excuse of an older brother? Better put that thought aside for now.

Thus far the evening was pleasant. Feilong was actually being civil and relaxed; like Asami, he had let go of his usual business mask and command attitude. Asami had noticed when they were both with Akihito, Feilong would be more charming, funny, and much easier to talk to. And they both enjoyed teasing their boys for sport. Asami wondered idly for a few minutes what it might have been like if Feilong and he had actually gotten together back then. But then Akihito laughed and touched his hand, and Asami realised he wouldn't, and couldn't be with anyone else. Asami had a glint in his eye as he couldn't help but run his hand up Akihito's thigh under the table, which resulted in a quick glare from his boy, making him chuckle.

"Can you both, for one night, stop with the bloody flirting; it's bothersome." Feilong looked bored as he took another sip of his drink. Akihito couldn't help but blush at Fei's comment and Asami let a devilish grin creep over his face.

"Why; jealous, Feilong?" Asami asked, just to piss him off. Giving him an amused look, he glanced at his partner and asked: "Isn't Yoh keeping up his end of the bargain for you...?" Feilong just scowled for a few seconds while Yoh gave him a rare grin.

"So, Aki, what were saying before your baka (idiot) so rudely interrupted?" Akihito chuckled. Yep, cat's out of the bag on that "secret".

"Well, I met a colleague today as I came out of the pros-, uh, physio today." Asami narrowed his eyes as he listened to Akihito's story. Was he about to say 'prosecutor'? Remembering the report of Akihito's location when he was picked up earlier, Asami started to think. 'Hmm, he was near the government buildings. Maybe I will have to ask Shinji later...'

"He was being evicted from his building, so I offered my university house for him to live in for a while, since I won't be using it until I'm fully back at work." Akihito smiled shyly towards Asami, suddenly thinking he may object to this.

Asami stared coolly at Akihito. "And whom was being evicted?" Asami was now staring intently at the blond. Akihito's smile wavered for a second.

"Carl. He works at the university; he's the new student councillor." Asami visibly paled. "Carl" he repeated, his voice coming out a bit too hard.

"Yes." Akihito was now looking at Asami with a mixture of annoyance and curiosity. Asami regained his focus, now hating where this conversation was heading.

"Akihito, why would you do that. Are you even aware of the security risk..." he sighed, trying so hard not to curse out load over Izaya and whatever nefarious scheme he was cooking up at that moment; the thought making him actually shiver.

Akihito was stung. "Uh, actually Ryuichi... it was your fault in the first place that Carl was being kicked out." Akihito huffed, now feeling justified in his actions.

"Wait... what?" Asami was completely confused by Akihito's statement. "Look... Kitten, I know you blame me for both the ufo and for Japan looking like a sea horse, but are you a complete dolt? How is this my fault?" Asami was intrigued to see where this was going. Feilong, Tao and Yoh watched the entertaining couple argue.

"Carl... uh, I never got his surname, well, anyways: your company bought his building complex and gave all the tenants with a very short term eviction notice to get out, which I have to say is deplorable." Akihito muttered the last part as he sipped his sparkling fruit water. Asami froze at the realisation of what just happened.

'Well, fuck' was all he could think of right at that moment. "So, you automatically think giving your home to practical total stranger is fine, seeing as who we are..." he growled as he gestured to the others seated around the table.

"Aw, isn't it sweet, Aki-chan thinks you're evil for evicting some tenants. When exactly did you two become acquainted...?" Feilong's mocking tone was thick like honey as he took in both Asami's and Aki's frowning faces.

"Fei-sama, stop it." Akihito said, slightly annoyed. "Well, that aside, I wasn't using the house, so I offered him a place to crash" he finished, looking defiant as Asami now realized it was a losing battle, and shrugged his shoulders, conceding defeat. "And anyway, he was the one who saved me at the university, so I kind of owe him." Akihito straightened his shoulder, looking to Asami first, then Feilong for their reactions.

"Well then, Aki, you must invite him to dinner with us as a big thank you for being your hero." Feilong primly stated, making sure Asami felt the dig, still holding him responsible for nearly losing his Akihito.

"Feilong." The blond snapped, short and sharp. "We discussed this already; it was no one's fault, it was just a stupid mistake on my part." Akihito then realised Asami had stopped talking and was looking rather pale. "Are you alright, Ryuichi?" Akihito leaned over, looking concerned.

"Oh, yes Akihito; sorry, I'm fine. Did you say Iza-... I mean Carl told you that Sion bought a block of buildings?" His boy nodded in confirmation, looking confused as Asami was mentally wishing his little brother was trapped inside an apartment complex as is was being dismantled, floor by floor.

Asami realised that his bloody brother Carl, a.k.a. Izaya, a.k.a. the pain in his ass, managed to lay the blame on him in his fictional scenario to get Akihito on his side, and was now living in Akihito's house assigned by the university. How in the hell was he going to fix this mess...

The blond was now speaking to Feilong when he heard Akihito saying that he'd invited Carl to both their bachelor party and the wedding. Asami nearly broke down and cried. 'When I find that little menace, I am so going to...' Asami mind was distracted when the sommelier came over with the wine list. Asami was greatful for the distraction; he didn't need to be plagued by thoughts of Izaya tonight any longer.

Asami was looking at the wine list, thinking he needed a few bottles of Dom Perignon just for himself tonight when he watched as a younger waiter came up to their table with an expression of quiet panic and whispered to their sommelier. "Sir, we have a problem..." Excusing himself, he and the junior waitstaff relocated to a nearby table as the restaurant maître d', Sugawara, was summoned. Sending a sideways glare to the younger waiter, he quietly hissed "Sort it out. We have very important people here, you deal with the kitchen staff. Now go!"

The younger man just swayed on his feet and kept looking back at the door to the kitchen and was about to leave when he turned about and tugged on Sugawara's sleeve, and said in a stage whisper "You don't understand, sir. One of our workers," that got Sugawara's attention "he's getting a bit... aggressive. He refuses to do any work, and he's also threatening to sue the restaurant and the hotel itself if we don't start selling strawberry licorice laces..." Sugawara stared at the younger waiter in complete bewilderment.

Asami was now far more interested in what was happening in the kitchen after overhearing the quietly desperate conversation. He really didn't care that much until they mentioned a certain sweet favored by his own personal tormentor. Could this night get any worse...?

Asami was annoyed, and brusquely motioned the small group over to him. Speaking with utmost authority, he quietly ordered the maître d' "You and the young gentleman can leave. Sort out your 'employee' first, then send someone up to take our orders later." Everyone at the table stared at the crime lord's strange behavior. The senior and junior most waitstaff just stood flabbergasted at him until Asami sent them a sideways death glare, making them quickly flee the room.

Noticing everyone's questioning looks, he quickly came up with a half truth: "I apologize, I just didn't want any more unnecessary disturbances delaying our meal." Asami then addressed the sommelier, requesting enough bottles of Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noire and Merlot wines for all five at the table to enjoy. As he finished with the wines, he, Feilong and Yoh shared a conspiratorial look: if Tao was to become the next great crime lord of Asia, his brushes with the law may as well start with a little supervised under age drinking at a private, special gathering.

Asami then signaled Kirishima over and whispered in his ear "Send someone down to the limo and open the boot, you should find a box with 'emergency' written on it. Take it unopened to the kitchen yourself."

"Asami-sama, how will I know whom to give it to?" Asami looked at him as if he had just asked the most stupidest question. "Believe me, Kei, you'll know as soon as you see him." Kirishima quickly figured out who the "him" was, and Asami, sensing that he was going to let out his younger brother's name, shot him a threatening look, making Kei snap his mouth shut. He headed out to do the task at hand, knowing if he didn't nip this in the bud right now, the situation would only get worse.

"So, Feilong: how is Mikhail?" Asami asked smoothly, trying to get everyone's attention away from the situation at hand. Oh, he was going to throttle his darling little brother, then shoot him.

"Mikhail is as annoying as ever, and busily trying get into my bed as much as uncovering information about our little get together." Asami enjoyed the look of despair on both Feilong's and Yoh's faces.

Asami lowered his voice and eyed Feilong and Yoh. "Well them, we should invite him..." Before the sentence was finished, Akihito's hand hit the table hard.

"You are not thinking of inviting him to our...?!" Akihito glared in outrage at all three men. Feilong reached for Akihito's hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

"No Aki, we wouldn't do that. We were taking about the unification announcement of Baishe and Sion." Asami was confused again... what did he just miss?

"Oh, okay." Feilong and Akihito smiled at each other.

At that moment Kirishima entered the dinning room via the kitchen. Everyone turned to see him walk in, covered in what seemed like sprays of flour and stray vegetables, looking more than a bit disheveled. Ignoring the looks, he proceeded to quietly report to his boss that the situation was now under control, and that there shouldn't be anymore problems.

He quickly excused himself to the bathroom to fix himself up. Feilong wondered what Asami was trying to keep secret; surely if it affected his business he would have mentioned it and even dealt with it himself if need be, but it seemed like he was trying to stay from being backed up into a corner. He made a mental note to have Yoh do some digging around, later.

Akihito had a slightly concerned expression as he asked "Is everything alright? You seem to know what's going on..."

Asami eyes widened somewhat before he interlocked his hands together and said: "Don't worry about it, Kitten. I had someone who caused a bit of trouble at Sion recently, and it just sounded like he might have shown up here, so I thought I would get Kirishima go check it out. That's all."

After a few more minutes, a senior waiter come back and apologised for the disturbance, which Asami suspiciously waved off with shrug and a simple "these things happen". When he looked back at the table, he was greeted with three incredulous looks of "who are you, and what have you done with Asami?", and one rude snort of disbelief.

After a sumptuous feast, Feilong asked Tao to present their gifts for Asami's and Akihito's wedding. Tao beamed as he signaled two of their guards over and one of them bowed, presenting Akihito and Asami with a velvet black box while another one was left on the table at Feilong's side. Akihito grinned and thanked him as he accepted the gift.

Asami raised an eyebrow as Akihito slowly opened the box: inside were five identical bands. They were absolutely beautiful, yellow gold rings covered with a tri gold design. Tao explained that the design was rose, white and yellow gold plaited together and he smiled proudly, calling it a dragon weave as the design resembled multi hued scales overlapping and protecting each other. Asami and Feilong chuckled as Tao explained the rings were his idea as now the Liu, Asami and Takaba groups would become a single family, and the rings represented them as a united clan of dragons.

Akihito and Asami graciously thanked Tao as Feilong watched a smiling Asami wiggle his right ring finger for Akihito to put his ring on it. Akihito chose instead to wait a moment, admiring how the different warm tones of gold glowed in the soft lighting.

Asami smiled at him fondly, then he quickly plucked the second smallest of the rings, took Akihito's right hand in his own and slipped it onto his finger and softly kissed the back of his hand. Akihito blushed, momentarily flustered by the act. He wasn't sure about what to do next, so he took the largest ring and did the same for Asami, Akihito's hand trembling slightly as the ring was slipped onto his lover's finger. No words were spoken, no words needed to be, it felt like they were now unofficially married, and he felt the heavy responsibility of uniting Feilong and his family with Asami's. Akihito then decided it would be kind of nice if he did the same with the rest of the rings and slipped one on Feilong's finger along with a kiss on his cheek, followed by Yoh and Tao.

Feilong then presented Akihito with Yoh's wedding gift, telling him it was from both Yoh and himself; and that in light of certain recent history, they all felt it was needed. Akihito removed the lid of the lacquered box, and stared. Within, nestled in royal blue silk, was a sturdy belly chain, and a large bangle bracelet. Both were made from stainless steel, both had a dragon head on each end, one head each had burning yellow diamonds for eyes, the other head had cold black diamonds instead. The chain was fine but heavy, and the dragon heads looked like they had some weight to them. From end to end it stretched out to about 36 inches/90 cm long. The blond gasped with delight and immediately wrapped it around his waist, were it draped over his hips and down his stomach. Asami could see that it would ride above the boy's jeans, just skimming his shirt hem over top, giving little flashes of cool metal against warm creamy skin as he moved about, and he decided he could definitely appreciate it. The bracelet was a solid cylinder of heavy twisted metal that spiralled around the blond's wrist. Feeling something a bit odd beneath one of the dragon heads, he slid a finger under it, then sent a suspicious look at Feilong. Feilong sipped some merlot and nodded, telling Akihito to push the catch up into the head with the black eyes, then pull on the head. The blond did as instructed, and pulled a concealed blade out of the bracelet. It wasn't big or sturdy enough to take to a knife fight, but it would do to jimmy open a lock, cut through bindings or rope, use it for self defence or to convince someone to seriously fuck off. Far more practical a gift than another toaster or a pickle dish, considering who it was for, and how they both lived. Akihito and Asami thanked Yoh for his thoughtful gifts.

Asami was now thankful that he had brought the envelopes on a whim that Kei had given him just before they had left Sion. After a few more moments of admiring the gifts given by the boy's adopted family, Asami took another sip of his wine, gave his fiancé a wink and stood up from the table. "It's tradition for the families being united by marriage to exchange gifts of goodwill, so on behalf of Akihito's parents, let me present you, his brothers, with my future wife's dowery." Akihito squawked indignantly at that while Tao giggled and Feilong and Yoh both snickered. With a smug smile he bowed, giving one envelope to Feilong, containing the deed to a country estate outside Tokyo with ample housing for his men, and extensive gardens and other amenities. To Yoh he presented the title to a penthouse in the Nezu district of the city, close to Tokyo University, Ueno Gardens and the temples and park in old Tokyo, close enough to visit with Akihito while staying away from the penthouse when they were staying in the city. Everyone was happy with that. And he personally made a promise to Tao that once he was old enough to drive, he'd have Suoh teach him tactical driving skills (especially for Tokyo traffic), then Tao, Akihito and he would go shopping for his first car to celebrate him getting his license. If Asami was basing his "dowery gifts" on his future "bride's" perceived worth, it was easy to see how highly he valued his little kitten. Profuse thanks were offered, and everyone toasted the happy couple and the upcoming wedding.

Afterward, the dinner continued with a contented feeling after the impromptu gift exchange. It seemed to further relax the atmosphere between Asami and Feilong, which was good as the odd sarcastic comment or joke that came out now and again was received in the playful spirit it was made, and Akihito and Tao both were feeling mellow from the single glass of white wine they had allowed themselves with the meal.

Akihito had just ordered his desert, the most sugary chocolate covered cream-filled pastry thing he could find on the dessert menu, which made Asami, Yoh and Feilong all raz him about watching the boy's "girlish figure", diabetic coma and having a dragon-sized sweet tooth, making the table laugh.

Akihito excused himself to leave for the bathroom, and as he got up young Tao decided to tag along, which meant one of Asami's guards had to follow, and Asami also notice one of Feilong's men followed Tao, leaving the big boys alone to talk. Akihito made a snide comment about hoping the guards didn't want to come into their bathroom stalls to help them hold anything. Tao clapped a hand over his mouth so as not to disturb any of the other diners.

When they returned, they were admiring their rings, and Akihito was teasing Tao about how if being the alpha crime lord of Asia didn't work out for him, he could always fall back on jewelry design.

The boys were both smiling as they walked into the dinning room, only to be met with the sight of Asami kissing a rather tall blond male at their table. Akihito and Tao froze on the spot at the scene in front of them. A young man, about the same height as Asami, with short styled blond hair, dressed in a high end suit and they thought they heard an English accent when he finally pulled his face away from Asami's. 'Okay, stay perfectly calm, so a good-looking guy was kissing Asami, and seemed to be examining my fiancé's tonsils with his tongue...'

Akihito was blindsided, and didn't know what to do… for about 10 seconds. He started feeling spitting mad enough to rip the other blond's head off. Akihito was about to explode when Tao took hold of his arm and pulled him back towards the table.

As they approached, they could hear the English man asking Asami how he'd been, was business good, saying how much he missed him… Wait, did he say he missed Asami, like as in an ex boyfriend kind of way? Feilong took firm hold of Akihito's wrist and made him sit down beside him at the table, which left Tao to sit beside Asami and the English man, much to his growing displeasure. Asami was trying to look anywhere but at the visitor, and glanced at Feilong when he saw Akihito had returned to the table, and was giving his abandoned dessert a scowl.

Akihito stayed still, not even looking at Asami as he sat stiffly in his place. Asami was about to introduce the gentleman to everyone there, when the unwelcome visitor started to speak again.

"Hello everyone, I'm Julius Keel, and I am a very, very close friend and old business partner of Ryuichi's." The stranger now stroked the other's arm intimately as Feilong, Yoh and Tao just nodded at the introduction.

Akihito looked up at the stranger, no emotions on his face. When Julius gave them a predatory smile and ignored Akihito completely, the other three at the table was aware of what he was up to, and waited for Asami's reaction. Once more, Julius turned back and caressed Asami's lapels, and started to speak again.

"Ryuichi, it's very rare of you to bring paid entertainment, oh, I mean a escort to one of your fancy hotel meals" he grinned as he waved his hand at Akihito to highlight his point. Akihito did nothing but stare at his plate.

Asami did not look pleased as he started to speak. "Julius, please. This is Ak-". Akihito stood up quickly, bowed and simpered. "Good evening, sir. This is a special dinner for Asami-sama and company, and he thought it would be entertaining to bring a "party favour", if you will, for his guests' amusement for the evening." Asami, Feilong, even the bodyguards that could overhear the table were shocked with Akihito as he just sat back down again.

Again, Akihito didn't look at anyone. Asami was annoyed with Akihito, and he was about to correct what he said when Julius broke in a third time with laughter in his voice. "Ryuichi, he is a spirited little thing. No wonder you like him." Julius reached over and stroked Akihito's cheek. Akihito did not flinch a muscle, he just sat still, unmoving.

Feilong was about to say something when Akihito glared at him to let it be. Asami was about to say something when Julius started speaking again, which was now pissing him seriously off.

"Ryuichi sweetie, when are we going to get back together? You know we were a great power couple: Sion and Tempest, you and I..." Asami hadn't said anything this time, he just waited for the interloper to continue.

Feilong was concerned for Akihito, and couldn't understand why Asami allowed this person to degrade his Akihito. Feilong was about to speak up when Akihito stood up, making everyone look in at him. Akihito looked up at Julius from under his bangs and smiled ever so sweetly.

"Excuse me, but l'm not here for that gentleman this evening" he said, nodding at a now simmering Asami. Akihito gracefully moved between Feilong and Yoh, and stated "In fact, I'm here for these fine gentlemen tonight" and sat down on Feilong's lap as he rested his legs up on Yoh's thighs. Firmly taking hold of Fei's chin, he started to kiss him. Feilong obliged him and deepened the kiss, hand going to cradle the back of his head. Yoh calmly watched Aki and Fei indulge themselves, rubbing his hand up the back of Aki's legs. Feilong's other hand traced up Akihito's shirt and grazed his nipple with his nails. Akihito leaned his head back and moaned, low and breathy. Feilong kissed up Aki's jawline to his ear, and whispered: "By the look on Asami's face, he is either going to spontaneously combust, or you are in for it tonight, my boy." Akihito gave him a saucy little look, then removed himself from both Yoh and Feilong, resuming his seat at the table, picked up the cigar list and began reading it as if nothing transpired. Asami growled at the back of his throat while Akihito ignored him. Well, he wanted to piss off his pet dragon…

Julius laughed out loud. "My, my, he is a tempting little thing. I might take advantage of his services myself in the future." Julius was about to reach out and touch Akihito again when Asami's hand shot out to stop that from happening with a firm grip on his arm. Julius' attention was back on Asami, and with a teasing grin he was about to to perch on his lap and kiss Asami again, and Akihito was just done. He stood up, handed something to Feilong, then grabbed the taller blond on his shoulder, swung him around and punched him in the face with all his might. Surprised and disoriented at the sudden pain and blood spraying out of his broken nose, he fell flat on his ass and Akihito shook his hand as his knuckles stung

Asami's friends were sitting quietly at their table when Julius waltzed in with his two bodyguards. Kirishima and Suoh nearly spilled their drinks when they realised who had just entered the restaurant, "Fuck!" was their immediate reaction. Both men had their own less than fond memories of him from when Sion was in its early stages of growth. They both stood up to stop him from getting closer to the private table when Julius' guards intervened. To avoid a scene, Asami nodded to Kirishima, granting the blond safe passage to the table.

Feilong was proud of Akihito: he was collected and in control as he dropped the bigger male trying to lay claim to his man. Out of concern for Asami's image as CEO of Sion, nobody at the table wanted to make a scene in the restaurant, but it didn't stop Feilong from running some scenarios in his mind just in case Akihito decided to do something more fun and make a very public statement. Tao was already ten steps ahead of him. In his mind, as soon as the blond sack of shit hit the floor, Yoh was up and helping Kirishima and Suoh quietly deal with the outsider's guards left at their table while Julius got hauled up off the floor by Aki. He quickly moved to hold open the door to "help" Julius out of the building with a kick to his ass. His big blond bro was walking the party crasher out of the room by a fistful of hair, dragging the Englishman forward almost doubled over towards the exit, then bounced Julius's head off of door frame hard before herding him through the door. Heading down the hallway towards the kitchen and presumably the back entrance to the restaurant, Aki randomly slammed Julius' head into the hallway walls, then out the back exit into the alley way while Tao held the emergency door open, and dumped his pale ass with the other trash. Then, when they both came back to the dining room, his nii-san motioned Feilong to stay put as he unwound his "belly chain", holding a dragon head in each hand as he curled his arm around Asami's neck from behind, and with the manriki gusari (a.k.a belly chain) taunt against the inside of his arm, he started to quietly tighten his choke hold on Asami in front of an oblivious dinner crowd and guards, and cheerfully told Asami that next time something like that happens, he'll take the competition out first, then take it out on Asami's ass, later.

Akihito, meanwhile, was still clenching his fist, his veins pulsing with rage, but he didn't want to cause Asami any more trouble (well, not much, anyway). When he looked away from the man towards Asami, a look of hurt anger graced Akihito's beautiful face.

Asami was quietly fuming. Of all the things could go wrong tonight, this had been completely unexpected. Akihito saw Julius starting to get up in his peripheral vision, and from the look in his eyes Akihito knew he was about to make a move for him. Akihito stepped out of the taller man's reach and moved towards the rear exit. Asami could only watch as Akihito's back disappeared out the door and around the corner.

Tao got up and gave Asami a disgusted look, which on any other day might have amused him, but the look on Akihito's face nearly broke what could pass for his heart. Tao left to follow Akihito, not knowing what was happening.

Julius smiled at Asami and said "Well, your whore seems a bit feisty" as he covered his nose with a linen napkin.

Asami tried not to snarl as he stated "It's time for you to leave now."

Julius smiled as he tried to staunch the bleeding of his aching nose. "Well, I do have business in the area, so I will make sure to pop in and see you very soon at the office, love." Asami could pick up the signs that Julius was up to something, which he knew deep down was going to be potentially disastrous for him.

Tao managed to catch Akihito, and was trying to lighten the mood with him explaining how he thought they should have dealt with that jerk off coming in and treating his Aki with the utmost dismissive disdain. His brother wasn't really listening, he was still pumped for action as Tao tried to calm a raging Akihito. Since neither of them was looking where they were going, the blond nearly fell over someone for the second time that day. Akihito realised it was a hotel employee, and he felt ready to shout at the person when he was greeted by the friendly familiar face of Carl, who was happily munching on some strawberry licorice laces. "You alright, Aki? You look upset; want some?" Akihito just shook his head at the offered strawberry laces and said he would tell him about it later, when he saw Carl's mesmerizing eyes had drifted to Tao. Akihito sighed, then pushed Tao in front of him and introduced them to each other.

Tao asked a question he has been wondering since the introductions: "Carl," he said, then hesitated. Said person just raised an eyebrow and nodded for him to continue. "What are you doing at such a fancy restaurant? You're wearing their uniform, too... I thought you worked at the university with Aki?" Akihito, who just clued into Carl was indeed wearing a waiter uniform, lifted his own eyebrow in question.

Carl just sheepishly laughed and confided "I need the extra money. A friend of mine who has connections to some higher-ups here told me about this job and said I should check it out, so here I am, little man." Tao thought he seemed like he was hiding something, but since this Carl was be good friends with Akihito, he shrugged it off.

Carl went back to the topic of why Akihito was storming away, which caused the blond to start clouding up again as his anger came rushing back. He just turned around and began walking away. "I'll tell you later, I can't stay here at the moment. Sorry." Tao bowed to Carl, and said "Nice to meet you, but I need to go too; bye" before quickly following his nii-san.

As soon as they were out of sight, Carl's concerned, worried look transformed into a cold, calculating smile. Heading in the direction of where "their" boy had come from, he entered the dining room and headed over to his brother's table and asked with a laugh in his voice "The kitten seems to be pissy right now, what did –"… His question was immediately forgotten when he saw the blond man standing with his brother. Izaya's eyes widened and he began to slowly back away, not daring to look away from him. Asami was surprised by this, never having seen Izaya afraid of someone before; how the hell did he know Julius? Asami made a mental note to figure out their relationship later. Unfortunately for Izaya, he was spotted by the one person he really didn't want to be seen by. A sudden leer appeared of Julius' face, his anger forgotten temporarily. "What a delicious surprise. Nice to see you again, Izaya." Before Asami could question how they knew each other, Izaya squeaked in fright and sent a harsh fast side kick to Julius' package, sending him down to the floor once more, curled up in agony and heaving. Asami turned back to his brother, only to find him getting the fuck outta Dodge, fumbling and stumbling between the tables as he made his get away. He really did not know what to make of his brother's strange behavior.

"What the hell was that about?" Asami rumbled. The guards were helping Julius up; he took a deep breath and laughed out loud. "Well, well, two very interesting things have appeared before me this evening; it must be my lucky night, I guess..." Before Asami could demand what was going on, he gave Asami a playful nip on his bottom lip and said "See you around, Ryuichi", then disappeared out the door to the hotel lobby.

Asami sat down at a now emptied table and looked at Feilong, who was beyond furious. "Do you have the slightest clue what you've done, Ryuichi?" he hissed. Asami looked at Feilong, momentarily not comprehending what he meant.

He sighed as he rubbed his eyes. "Akihito has done this before. He'll come back, he's just blowing off steam." Feilong looked at an approaching Yoh with concern on his face.

"I'm not so sure about that..." Feilong lifted his hand and opened his fist.

Looking at his palm, Asami's eyes narrowed as he thundered "Find Akihito and Tao. Now." as he gestured at Kirishima and Souh; the two shouldn't have gotten too far away, yet.

Asami was seething more and more by the minute. Izaya was in the building, running amuck, doing gods knew what, and now Akihito was off in a strope. His little blond was sure as hell going to pay for kissing his "big brother" the way he did. Asami glared at Feilong as he held out his hand, palm up.

Not in the least bit intimidated, Feilong lifted his chin. "Oh, know this is all on you, my friend. You should have gotten rid of that fuck before any of this happened." Feilong stood and tipped Asami's engagement ring, Tao's band and the opened cuff onto his hand. Asami was now livid: was Akihito just hurt and angry, needing some space, or was he running again...

Akihito was at the hotel's back door, breathing hard over what had happened in the dinning room. He could have just killed Asami for not… Well, that stopped his mind for a second or two. Who was this Julius fellow, and why was he all over Asami? Obviously they hadn't wanted to reveal Akihito's status publicly, not just yet. Tonight was meant to be a family occasion, but he still felt used and betrayed. Asami should have done something, stood up for him or gotten rid of the other man.

Tao came up to Akihito, and squeezed his shoulder. "Where are we going?"

Akihito shrugged and sighed. "Home, I guess" was all he could think to say, really.

"So why give Asami your rings and cuff?"

"I just did that to just to piss him off, like he did to me." Tao shook his head as a white limo pulled up to the hotel door. They both watched Julius and his guards enter the limo and pull away. As the car slowly passed by, the window rolled down and he could see Julius inside the vehicle, seated with his guards and two other men. Julius gave him a not-very-nice smile which was full of promise, very much like Asami; but where the look of his lover mostly promised pleasure, this smile promised nothing but pain. Akihito and Tao, not being the least bit impressed, flipped him off at the same time.

The boys decided to walk back to the penthouse to try and vent out the hurt Aki was feeling. His leg was starting to ache again, and all he wanted to do was take a relaxing hot shower and go to sleep. His mind then began to churn out ways to excruciatingly punish Asami tomorrow over that English prick. Rounding the corner he once again stumbled into someone. "Carl. For the love of… what are you doing here?" Akihito looked at him, took hold of his arm and spoke quietly. "Carl, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I have", was all he replied; but quickly coming back to his senses, he asked if Akihito and Tao would like to have a quick drink with him. Akihito smiled and agreed as they had nothing better to do. He looked around them and realised that neither of them were being shadowed, which left him somewhat surprised. Surely Tao's bodyguards should have been there at least, but no.

Hearing Akihito's acceptance, Carl linked arms with both "his" kitten and Tao. "Let's have some fun, boys~" he cheered, and proceeded to drag them to a nearby dive drinking establishment.

Tao tried to protest somewhat. "Aren't I too young to drink in Japan?"

Carl just giggled while Aki snorted. "My dear Tao, everything here is legal, as long as you don't get caught."

The night was getting chillier as summer was nearly over. Two men left the hotel after Asami, Feilong and Yoh had departed the dining room. They stood on the corner with cigarettes at the ready, when one quietly spoke. "What the hell just happened back there?" he wondered, and inhaled smoke from his stick.

"How the hell should I know" the other guy grumbled, blowing smoke out of his nose.

"Well then, who's going to report to Mikhail about this."

The other man huffed. "Huh, it certainly ain't gonna be me..."

"Yeah, well, someone has to inform him." Both looked away from the other. They took their time determining there wasn't anything particularly interesting nearby to look at, when the first man sighed.

"We could always do Rock, Paper, Scissors, just like the old days."

The other man laughed. "Fine. Best two outta three. The loser has to face the music. And may God have mercy on his soul."

**** Izaya shenanigans*****

Tao: is there a word that is a mix between mad and sad?

Feilong: malcontented

Asami: disgruntled

Kei: exasperated

Akihito: miserable

Izaya: smad

***Izaya shenanigan's****

Police: where do you live?

Izaya: with my brother

Police: where does you bother live?

Izaya: with me

Police: where do you both live?

Izaya: together

Police: where is your house?

Izaya: next to my neighbour's house

Police: where is your neighbour's house

Izaya: If I tell you, you won't believe me

Police: tell me

Izaya: next to my house


	21. 21 Fallout

Restart:

Chapter 21: Fallout

As soon as Izaya bolted, Kirishima went on high alert. That troublemaker might be ten pounds of trouble in a five pound bag, but he was still Asami-sama's kin. Suoh had been coordinating the joint Sion/Baishe attempt to track down Akihito and Tao since the disastrous conclusion to what had been a stress-free evening.

Kirishima, as well as the remaining Baishe guards, had carefully ignored the fact that Feilong had been enthusiastically berating Asami in several different languages since the boys departure. As soon as Akihito left, Kirishima had a feeling he had done it more to piss off Asami in retaliation for his behavior with that prick Keel, and that Akihito would be found back at the penthouse after cooling off. However, Izaya running scared at Keel's presence was a whole different ball game.

Later that night Kirishima informed Asami and Feilong the moment he got a text that the boys were safe and back in their own hotel rooms. Within seconds Asami was bidding good night to the pair who had kept vigil with him in the hotel cigar lounge, both parties moving as quickly as decorum allowed towards the elevators leading to their hotel suites to have a few words with their own personal juvenile delinquent. The family dinner had gone surprisingly well until Keel had shown up, sparking Akihito's displeasure with his antics, causing him to use Feilong and Yoh the way he did in retaliation.

After that, the boys disappearance, and the inability of both groups' men to find them just seemed to be par for the course that day. If anything, Asami's greater concern was Izaya's own wild escape, which in his mind was much more worrying. Izaya was frightening, but Asami had thought whatever he was afraid of hadn't been invented yet. Asami sighed, thinking even the Devil Himself was nervous about what Izaya had on Him, so why would the sight of Julius disturb Izaya at all? Questions needed to be answered, but most important of all right now, he needed to speak with his kitten.

In the elevator, it looked to Asami that the question of the night was Julius Keel: what was he up to? Like himself, Keel was driven with a need for supremacy, as well as personal power and the finer things in life that went with them. Keel had wanted him since university, but he didn't have any need for a relationship, he'd been happy with the long list of flings he'd had, and planned to continue that way. It was never part of his plan to marry or have a live-in lover, that was unthinkable. His business was dangerous enough without that complication, and there hadn't been anyone who had made him want to be with someone on a regular basis... until the night a cheeky brat who wasn't afraid of him insulted him and his men to their faces then jumped off the roof of Sion.

Feilong had been raucously vocal on how Asami had mistreated Akihito that evening. It had taken everything in him not to try and maim him, just for old times sake. Yoh had behaved impeccably, correctly interpreting the 'I swear I will kill him if you don't shut him up' look he'd shot him after Feilong had discarded both Mandarin and Cantonese, and had started cursing him out in Russian. He had smoothly intervened, cutting into the jangling flow of consonants making up the derogatory slang being used and redirecting the rant away from his "thoughtless behaviour", and more towards what was taking "their" men so long to find "his" boys. He'd actually missed Yoh these past few years he had decided to remain with Feilong and Baishe: he was smart, competent, and reminded him of a somewhat younger version of himself at times. Tonight, Yoh was being the diplomatic go-between for the man he had formerly worked so diligently for, and the one he was so utterly smitten with now. Asami had also noticed throughout dinner how Yoh was quite relaxed with Akihito despite their past, who seemed to love them all. That, more than anything was the reason why Feilong retired for the night unscathed; no matter how tempting the equation of Feilong's ass plus a bullet equaling immediate stress relief might have been.

Asami stopped outside the suite door as something niggled at his mind: Akihito didn't know about the room being reserved for the night, and certainly didn't have his own keycard to get inside. Carefully, he took his gun from his shoulder holster before he swiped his keycard and pushed open the suite door. Expecting a spitting mad Akihito hissing at him, instead it was quiet inside the dimly lit sitting room. Slipping his firearm back into its holster, he took his jacket off and loosened his tie as he walked over to the bedroom door. Glancing at the table overflowing with pastries, a dessert cheese and fruit tray and other treats to go with the chilled Champagne he'd had Kirishima order in passing, the fact that the sweets remained unravaged, no matter how pissed his kitten was, made him think that Akihito had been unconscious when he had dropped off in the suite.

Listening for a moment outside the door, he quietly opened it to find Akihito breathing quietly, passed out in bed. Any previous grievance evaporated as Asami looked down at him, carefully moving a few stray hairs away from his closed eyes, then softly caressed his face, trailing his fingertips down his neck and over his collarbone. Noticing Akihito seemed at least partially undressed, he gently moved the covers down, revealing a semi nude Akihito, with nothing but crime scene tape protecting his modesty, here and there; and a set of police binders securely holding his arms together in front of him. Never one to question where quality gift handcuffs came from, Asami removed the cuff keys that was sitting beside the discarded chocolate wrappers off of the pillow, and grinned like the Big Bad Wolf as he undid his tie and pulled it off.

Asami then slipped his hand into his dress pants pocket, pulling out Akihito's cuff and rings. He carefully replaced the cuff back onto Akihito's wrist where it belonged. Catching the light from the low side table, Asami admired the cold gleam of the new platinum cuff he had replaced the metal cuff with. Akihito had been reluctant to accept it, barking about the ring alone being far too expensive for a lowly teacher intern's pay. Asami reminded Akihito of the silver bangle (complete with a tracking device he didn't need to know about) that he had given him as a birthday gift years ago.

Akihito's skin was allergic to the alloys sterling silver used to protect it from oxidation, so while Asami was pleased he had the best excuse in the world to buy him fine jewelry, Akihito had bitched. It had amused Asami somewhat that even if his boy's budget dictated cheapness, Akihito's body had exquisite taste, so a bit of persuasive foreplay had worked wonders. A worn out but well satisfied Akihito had finally relented. Asami had also gone to great lengths to make sure his kitten hadn't heard about Argentium silver's hypoallergenic properties, either.

Leaving a tender kiss on Akihito's wrist, he then lifted the blond's left hand and carefully slipped the engagement ring back on first, then held Tao's dragon weave band nestled in his palm, admiring it. They're gold hues had a warm glow in the hotel suite's soft light; it even felt like it was skin temperature as he placed it next on the right hand ring finger. It looked lovely on Akihito's strong, slender digit. He kissed Akihito's knuckles, then both of his wrists, continuing up his arm, over his shoulder, along the collarbone and up Akihito's throat until he reached his kitten's lips. He gently gripped Akihito's chin enough to lift his lips closer. As Asami began to kiss him, Akihito was sluggish to respond in his slumbering state. When Asami moved on to his ear, he bit down. Hard.

Akihito yelled at being so rudely awakened. "Fuck! What was that for..." his boy grumbled, attempting to coordinate moving his hands to cover his ear while looking up at Asami with a sleepy scowl. Asami chuckled, then pinned Akihito's hands above his head by the handcuff chain.

"Well my little kitten, where should I begin? One, you compared yourself to a whore." Firmly nipping Akihito's ear again, Asami continued. "Two, the way you kissed Feilong... I haven't even started processing that one yet, Kitten" he warned, moving on to biting Akihito's neck. "Three, running off... again" he scowled, nipping his collarbone bone. "Four, taking your engagement ring and cuff off" he growled, bitting down on Akihito's shoulder, hard. "And five... and this one is the most important one… why are you naked, wrapped in police tape…?" Looking Akihito level in the eyes now, Asami could actually see Akihito's brain trying to jumpstart itself amidst the alcoholic fumes to comprehend what he'd said. When he saw the lights finally come back on in Akihito's eyes, he settled down to wait, chin resting on the mattress, face partially hidden by his head nestled in his crossed arms, only his intense golden eyes visible, focused on his lover.

He didn't have to wait long: the blond reached up to scratch his head and realised his wrists were bound together. With that Akihito squeaked as he wriggled around on the bed to see how he was dressed. Realising what he was trussed up in, and what parts were covered, he blushed furiously and groaned. "Oh..."

"Oh...? Is that all you can say, Kitten?" One of Asami's hands moved over the edge of the police tape covering Akihito's nipples. "I must say, Akihito, I do find this attire quite a turn on." Asami's hand moved slowly down the boy's torso, feeling Akihito stomach muscles twitch as he ran his fingers over the ticklish area there. His hand carried on its journey to the second patch of tape hanging low on his hips, just covering up Akihito's pubic area. Asami eyes filled with hunger as Akihito lay there, shivering and squirming.

"Asami..." He wasn't allowed to finish as Asami kissed his Akihito, hot and ready.

Akihito was now fully awake, however, his mind was floundering around in sensations and growing desire. Asami's voice was low and husky, his long fingers gliding back and forth over Akihito's smooth naked skin. He picked up his silk tie, using Akihito's already bound wrists to his advantage as he knotted one end to the bed's headboard, and tied the other end around the chain. Asami purred, teasing the police tape down from around the boy's chest while softly brushing his nipples with his fingertip. "Mmm…, having you already restrained saves us a lot of time I can devote to other things…" Sliding the tape off his torso, he grinned wickedly when he discovered the plastic ribbon covering his boy's chest was actually two long pieces. Humming his approval, he began trailing his moist tongue in a long figure eight around the blond's nipples, across his chest, every orbit tightening around the boy's pink areolas.

Akihito was already beyond caring, he just wanted action, and he wanted Ryu. If it happened to erase the image of another man kissing his lover better than the alcohol hadn't, so much the better. As Ryuichi's knowledgeable tongue finally slid over a hard nub and began torturing it with wet licks and nibbling teeth and cool breath blowing over it, Aki pulled against his bound wrists, not worrying about any red marks he was leaving behind.

Asami glanced up at his boy's face as he moved on to torment the other nipple, gauging his reaction. 'Not quite yet…' he decided, and started mauling that defenceless bit of flesh. The gasps and breathy moans as the blond tried to move beneath him told him his efforts were appreciated. Taking in his lover's appearance, the eyes closed tight and a light sheen of sweat starting to form over his face and neck, he judged it was just about time.

Sliding down the young man's body, leaving a trail of nips and kisses behind him, Asami reached where the long legs met his hips. Continuing down one leg, he moved his hand to close around an ankle as he moved the limb aside, taking his time licking the ticklish back of Akihito's knee.

As he finished kissing and nibbling the top of his foot, he looped the tape around the ankle, tied it off so it wouldn't tighten no matter how his boy twisted, pulled or struggled, then moved upwards again, kissing and licking his way back to the top of his hip, then started across his belly toward the other hip, all the while watching the other's panting, flushed face and blurred blue eyes track his movement.

When he paused a moment at Akihito's shaft, he waited until his blue eyes focused on him before he continued his teasing, smirking as he merely rubbed the side of the aroused length with his cheek and planting a soft, barely there kiss on the tip before continuing down the other leg. Satisfied with the soft groan of disappointment he heard, he licked circles down the other leg as he slowly pushed it aside as well.

Once it was secured, he moved back up again to the neglected appendage, nuzzling it, giving it little kisses and tender licks, eliciting gasps and moans as Akihito tossed his head back, immobilized yet still trying to squirm about. 'Almost there...' Asami's eyes glittered darkly as he bent over Akihito's cock, taking the head into his mouth and teasing him further by first rubbing his tongue around it, then breathing over it. A strangled moan from the tense, straining body beneath him signalled what he'd been waiting for. Abruptly Asami got up and exited the room, slamming the door loudly behind him.

About an hour later, Asami knocked on the door before entering the bedroom again, holding a tray with a selection of pastries, fruit, a pair of champagne flutes and the ice bucket complete with chilled bottle tucked under his arm. Akihito, clearly still miffed at the near fatal titillate-and-run incident (as soon as he realised that Asami had bailed on him, he'd been ready to fucking kill him) glared at the ceiling as his fiancé walked by the bed and set his armload down on the bedside stand. Asami stayed quiet as he arranged the ice bucket, crystal and tray to be in easy reach of the bed. Turning back to the very restrained blond, he opened his mouth to say something when his kitten spoke.

"I'm sorry, Ryu. It was stupid of me to have freaked out at dinner and taken off like that. I saw a stranger kissing you, talking like he had a history with you, and for someone who doesn't have a problem making people disappear, you seemed to be putting up with it pretty well. I've been stressed for awhile now and lost it over some giant Viking-looking asshole, and took it all out on you. And I didn't stop and think about it when Tao came after me. I screwed up. I apologize."

Asami cocked his head, regarding Akihito for several heartbeats. His little lover never ceased to surprise him. Reaching over to softly outline the boy's upper lip with his thumb, he leaned over to place a kiss on Akihito's forehead, whispering he'd be right back then got up and left the bedroom, grabbed a bottle of chilled Kona Nigari Water from the bar fridge, and came back to the bed, sitting down facing Akihito.

Pouring the water into a glass, he then moved a hand behind the blond's head, lifted it slightly and offered him a drink from the cup. After he sipped down the outrageously expensive libation, Asami put the glass down, and reached into the ice bucket, putting a handful of ice cylinders into the glass for later.

Picking up a strawberry, he dangled it over his boy's lips, murmuring "Eat some, it will help with your hangover later." As his boy opened his mouth, Asami held it by the very end of the stem so the blond's teeth could bite into it while still keeping his fingers safely out of reach of any "accidental" nips. Blue eyes sized up where his fingers were to the millimetre, then flicked up to meet golden ones, both of them sharing a playful, knowing look before biting into the berry. Then picking up a small bunch of seedless grapes, Asami plucked one with his lips, waiting until Akihito huffed and rolled his eyes before opening his mouth for Asami to pass him the fruit while stealing a kiss. As his blond started to munch on the grape, golden eyes studied his face, and asked "What have you been stressed about?"

Opening his mouth for another grape flavoured kiss, he chewed and swallowed it before answering. "Well, the wedding, for one: first getting engaged so quickly after we got back together, then having it delayed. Getting stabbed, staying in the hospital, then working to minimize any damage in rehab. Feeling like I'm the only thing keeping you and Feilong from tearing each other apart every ten minutes you're together, even while I AM what's bringing you two together. My teaching internship at the university. The first time we all get together to relax and try to have a casual visit over a meal, I go and have a meltdown, drag Tao along for the ride and I'm guessing Feilong probably had a raging fit. Now gimme some more grapes before I overthink this too and have an aneurism."

Asami looked unhappily at him, feeding him another grape with his fingers this time, and shook his head. "And you've been holding all this in? Kitten, that's why I depend on Kirishima and Suoh, so I don't have to handle everything all by myself. I have them, you have your friends, Tao had Feilong, he has Yoh, and now we'll all have each other's backs. And if all else fails, no matter what, you and I have each other. So, this morning we'll have breakfast with our Chinese part of the family, clear up any misunderstandings, make any needed amends, and go forward as planned, as a united front. Now, do you need something more to eat or drink? Because I feel like I want some 'dessert' now."

Akihito grinned and shook his head, shuffling around into a slightly more comfy spot as he watched Asami slowly unbuttoned his shirt after removing his cuff links and watch, letting it hang open after partially rolling up his sleeves as he got up to remove his shoes. Turning back to the bed, he paused and stretched, enjoying how those blue eyes were hungrily going over every square inch of his visible chest, like his kitten was inspecting his own personal property.

Giving Asami a coy smile, he gave a slight toss of his head as an invitation to come closer. With a deep chuckle, Asami moved back towards the bed as he slowly undid his belt buckle, then unbuttoned his pants and unzipped his fly part way down. Back at the side of the bed, Asami pulled a small, elegant straight razor from his pants pocket, and after opening out the elegantly scroll-worked surgical steel blade, slid the flat blade down to the boy's temporary plastic underwear.

Sliding the blade beneath the police tape band around Akihito's hips, he pulled the knife away first from one leg joint, then the other, in a smooth motion, letting the sharp edge slice through the overlapping layers without any resistance.

Folding the blade back into its long black walnut wood handle, he slid it back into his pocket then palmed a couple of tidbits from the tray before unzipping his pants the rest of the way and letting then slide over his hips and down his muscular legs to end up in a pile on the floor. Stepping out of them, clad only in his open shirt and boxer briefs, he kneeled astride Akihito's prone form, resting lightly on his blond's thighs while he took his time, checking out the body beneath him.

Licking his lips, he put a couple of blackberries in his mouth to crush before bending down to capture Akihito's lips in a searing kiss, the tart flavour accenting the ravaging tongue in his mouth, making him moan softly.

As Asami continued his assault, his fingers explored the blond tresses before trailing down the side of his long, creamy neck to his chest. Lightly flicking a nipple with his fingernail several times, he took another blackberry and squeezed it between his fingers, smearing the juicy pulp over and around the nipple he was tormenting.

Lifting away from the heated lips panting beneath his, Asami took in his face a moment before dipping his head to the boy's chest and began lapping up the berry. Akihito shivered and gasped as the hot tongue eagerly cleaned up the dark mess. He struggled to move, arching his back, unconsciously trying to offer up more of himself to his lover. The yakuza responded with a deep rumble from his chest, before first sucking hard on the nipple, then nipping harder on the rosy bud, feeling his kitten moan and shudder.

Removing himself from over top of his boy, he plucked one of the sweating ice cylinders from the glass and ran it over Akihito's lips, down his chin and let it gently skim down the length of his neck. Sliding it over the lithe chest as he reclined at Akihito's side, Asami took in the lidded eyes, the flared nostrils, the rapid breathing. Teasing the previously unmolested nipple with the ice, he watched the boy try to pull against his restraints as the cold rubbed against the sensitive flesh. Asami leaned over to lick the meltwater from the blond's areola, the contrast between cold ice and hot tongue making the over-sensitive boy yip in shock as he tried to levitate off the bed.

Asami's own need was becoming more insistent as his lover gasped and moaned, writhing within his restraints. Taking another piece of ice from the cup with his other hand, he let both hands slowly trace their frozen way down the chest, over his kitten's stomach muscles and along the inside of Akihito's hip bones. One of the pieces went to circle underneath the boy's balls while the other lightly traced Akihito's arousal. The moans and gasps were getting louder as Asami decided to abandon those melted blobs and got a new, larger pair of ice chunks to play with. Slipping them into his mouth, Asami then swallowed Akihito's hard on down in one go.

His kitten's reaction was immediate: his tensed body convulsed, his head was thrown back as his eyelids tore open and he screamed as he simultaneously tried to pull away from/push further into the conflicting pleasures of heat and cold. Asami stayed still, hands holding onto the sides of Akihito's hips as he pushed himself deeper up into the hot mouth, only to shy away from the sudden touches of cold, and the tongue that first worried the tender tip of his cock, then tried to worm its way into the sensitive slit there.

Removing himself from his boy, Asami swallowed down the cool water and precum in his mouth as he got up long enough to rid himself of his underwear and shirt, then select one final piece of ice. Letting it trail down from the underside of Akihito's cock, over his sack, then down to the tightly clenched swirl, Asami lightly brushed it against his entrance. His boy was acting delirious, heaving and moaning, gasping and panting like he had been running a marathon, flat out.

Holding the tormenting cold cylinder against the opening with his thumb and middle finger, Asami watched it disappear into his body as he pushed it down with his index finger. When he barely had anything to hold onto, he allowed the boy's muscles to force it out, just to push it back in again, repeating the action over and over as Akihito whimpered, shuddering at all the overwhelming sensations.

When there was only a thin core of ice left, Asami pushed it in past the ring of muscles with his digit, then proceeded to add a second finger to fuck his moaning blond, needing to be inside him but willing to cling onto his control long enough to prep him so he wouldn't be hurt. At least, that was his plan, until whatever was left of Akihito's conscious mind decided he'd had enough of waiting and started trying to forcefully buck back onto those probing fingers. Asami's control snapped as he withdrew from his lover, pushed himself up over the blond's body, lined up his hard eager cock with the boy's hole and sank into his body. The familiar hot channel had a trapped layer of cool water within it that momentarily shocked Asami as he plunged through it, letting the tightly clenching muscles from Akihito's orgasm hijack his already tattered self control and drag him into his own release as well. Asami shuddered, gasping at his unexpected orgasm. He watched his boy go limp, fluttering eyelashes finally closed with a deep sigh. Pulling out, Asami breathed deep a couple of times before getting up from the bed, walking quietly to the ensuite bathroom and dampening a washcloth. Taking a face cloth with him, he cleaned and dried his kitten, then himself, before removing the restraints and unlocking the handcuffs. He watched Akihito as he curled up in a ball, shivering slightly, arms hugging himself.

Deciding to run a hot bath to warm the blond up, he covered Akihito in a sheet before returning to the bathroom, closing the door and turning on the hot water to fill the large soaker tub. Asami judged it was a fair size, spacious for two, it could comfortably fit four if they were well acquainted (and didn't want bubbles). Snickering at the thought, he tested the temperature in the tub, adjusting the flow of cold water to make his smaller lover warm and comfy.

Just as he shut the water off, he felt a small band of soft steel wrap around his upper neck and tighten. Tensing his muscles, he realised someone had come up behind him, expertly slipped the crook of their elbow between his Adam's apple and his chin, locking their arm around his neck and squeezing against his airway as another arm clamped behind his neck in a sleeper hold. About the surge up, throw off his attacker and fight to protect his fiancé from any threat, he stopped when a strong leg dug it's knee into the small of his back, pushing his pelvis forward while pulling his chest and shoulders backwards. As he tried to pull air in, a voice softly tickled his ear. "Ryuichi. as much as I love you, understand this: if I EVER catch another person's mouth on yours, they had better be performing CPR on you, or else someone damn well will be." With a quick bite on the rim of his ear, the arm was released from around his neck as the knee shoved him between the shoulders over the edge of the tub. Stopping himself from toppling head first into the water, he felt a sharp slap on his defenceless buttocks as his assailant laughed as he slipped from the bathroom.

Rearing up like a T Rex on the hunt, he drew in a deep breath through flared nostrils, then turned and launched himself towards the door to the bedroom. Glancing briefly around the room, he stalked towards the doorway to the sitting room, threw it open, and with a predatory grin, prowled in to find Akihito baring his own toothy smile within the partial enclosure of the seating arrangement. Asami approached, pacing like a big cat sizing up its prey while his feisty kitten stayed loose, watching him close in as he stayed poised on the balls of his feet, ready to dash away at a moment's notice. Asami slowed up, plotting his hunt, then quickly slid toward the end of the love seat closest to him.

Akihito danced backwards, maintaining a safe distance between them. Backing up, Asami shadowed his moves, facing him as he moved sideways across the back of the furniture. Bumping the back of his calves against an elegant coffee table, Akihito feinted towards an opening between the love seat and matching chair and the space beyond, possibly thinking to make towards the pastry laden table and pelt his pursuer with cream-filled morsels and fruit.

As Asami moved to follow him, he spun about and charged straight at the love seat, angling as he jumped to the cushion and lept over the back of the settee, only to be snagged midair by the muscular arms of his hunter. Growling in triumph, Asami clasped the blond's back against his chest as he bit the junction of his boy's neck and shoulder, then tucked his flailing, laughing love up under one arm as he turned and strode back into the bedroom and the waiting bath beyond.

Soon, the splashing and squealing noises changed into rhythmic sloshing and throaty moans as Akihito rode Asami's reclining body in the tub. Head thrown back, eyes screwed shut and panting mouth open, spine curved upwards, he was astride his dark lover who was looking up at his blond, watching the short, desperate rocking movements above him as he drove upwards into his boy, trying to rub the head of his cock raw against the sweet spot inside the other's body as his hands kept a death grip on the edge of the tub. His face twisted in pleasure, he groaned as Akihito ground down on him one last time then came over his straining abdominal muscles before following his boy in release.

Asami watched the morning sun rise over an already bustling Tokyo, quietly enjoying his first Dunhill of the day. He held Akihito cradled in his arms, the blond head nestled against his throat. His hand lazily circled over Akihito's lower back, his mind awash with too many questions to rest. He knew Kirishima would already be working on getting some of the answers which lay in Izaya's hands. Finding them out was now his big brother's top priority.

He let his mind wander back to some of his long undisturbed memories of Julius Keel. Asami remembered Julius had always been too greedy for his own good. His ambitions, while similar to Asami's, were all about flash and the bigger, better deal.

The main difference between the two was that Asami had been content to build his power base so it would be stable enough not to be snatched away or irreparably disrupted by any upstart threats, whereas Julius was all about instant gratification. Asami had spoken to him many times on the subject, but Julius had just ignored him. It had annoyed him, all the pomp and theatrics Keel needed to conduct his business; what had also added to his annoyance was that Julius was a relentless flirt that wouldn't take a simple "fuck, no" for an answer.

Julius had been attending the same university as he when they met in the M.B.A. program. They had become friendly in class when they started to discuss their ideas for the future and building their own business empires; Asami was building Sion at the same time Julius was creating Tempest in England. This was before their nasty split. Asami was relieved he had never decided to mix business and pleasure with that one.

Asami knew Julius was less than stable even before the blond man had tried to attack him. Asami had been leaving a nightclub with a cute little redhead when Julius showed up and started making a scene. Though fuming inside, Asami had tried to calm him down to avoid making a public spectacle, but the other man kept ranting on hysterically. Asami had turned to tell his date to go back inside and wait while he had dealt with the situation, realising Julius was high on some drug when the shrieking gaijin had clumsily tried to stab him. Being a serious student of a martial discipline, Asami had easily disarmed him. By the the time Kirishima had pulled up in front with the car, Julius had been disarmed, dumped like a sack of potatoes on the sidewalk and rendered unconscious. At that point he had still been an acquaintance and business associate, so Asami had asked Kirishima to take them back to his place on campus (his date for the evening having already left, which was probably for the best).

When Julius awoke the next morning he tried to explain himself, but to Asami it just sounded like one lame excuse after another. When he found out Julius was, and had for some time been dealing with the European underworld (which was linked to the Italian mafia), Asami knew it was time to part ways. Asami had heard rumors about them, and he didn't need that kind of shitstorm raining down on him; Japan's yakuza clans were complicated enough without inviting outside trouble. This had been the first of many decisions Asami had made on whom to discard in his climb to power.

Asami had buried his memories deep as he covered up details of his past. His guiding mantra was 'in the end, it's only a game', and he wanted to be the one with the most toys, who won. To get past some of the horrors in his life, the nights he couldn't sleep he would lie awake, scheming of all the ways he could make himself impervious to the machinations of others, because he knew it was only a matter of time before some undeserving prick would try to take away all he had built.

As a child Asami was brighter than other kids, and he preferred to spend most of his free time in the company of adults, quietly listening to their experiences and learning from their mistakes. He wasn't interested in the other kids his age, but found it amusing that they could find simple enjoyment in playing in the sand while he found it an irritating waste of time. Asami spent most of his days alone with his own company, making plans for the future. It never bothered him that for the most part, his childhood was spent in silence, reading in his room at night. He couldn't wait until he was an adult; he would become someone of stature and importance. It was like he watched himself from a distance, knowing that he'd be the one to make it to the top because he was laying out the groundwork to his success now while all the others around him played their days away.

Sion and everything he had achieved was built out of nothing. Asami knew from a young age that a time would come when he'd have to rise and conquer by becoming cold and ruthless. Asami's iron will never wavered; even at his lowest, he knew it was all he could count on until he took his throne. Sion was his labor of love, success his only pursuit, until Akihito came into his life. For his kitten, he would destroy any threat, remove anyone or anything that stood in the way of their being together. It always bemused him that the one person he would willingly give anything they asked for had no desire to share his empire. He knew any great chess strategy needed to have a strong queen alongside the conquering king. He silently chuckled at that: Akihito would cheerfully strangle him for that analogy. Continuing to stroke Akihito absentmindedly, he leaned over to plant a kiss on the crown of the blond's head.

Asami had gotten so used to how Julius acted around him, he had allowed that particular bad habit to grow without thinking about it. Julius behaved like a proud arrogant boy in the body of a man, a wealthy and influential diplomat's son who was given everything on a silver platter. He treated others like they were beneath him, using people for his own transitory entertainment. The way he spoke about his father was what had originally sent up red flags in the yakuza's mind. His only loyalty was to himself, whereas Asami knew loyalty was the key to his business and personal success. Asami had watched as Julius whispered promises of love to potential bed partners then throw them away when he was done with them. In his own case, he was honest about what he wanted from the start so people knew where they stood; it was a solid policy that had served him well.

Akihito shifted slightly against him and sighed in his sleep. After their harsh start, he had thought he had been honest with Akihito too, but he was his kitten's first love, and he now knew he hadn't handled it well at all. Akihito was also his first love, but he had treated Akihito like he was any other relationship he'd had. But the boy's fighting spirit and sheer stubborn will had knocked down his walls, so much so that when he had thought he'd lost Akihito, he had almost turned away from Sion to dedicate himself to winning his lover back.

Maybe that was why Asami had fell for Akihito, who was willing to struggle daily to achieve his dreams. Akihito was a scrapper: nothing stood in his way, not even himself. He loved Akihito's fight to the death spirit. It was the same thing that he'd seen in Feilong years ago, too. To be completely honest, the important ones he surrounded himself with all had that fire. But Julius didn't have that spark, he just demand whatever he wanted, almost like a tantrum, then waited for it to be handed to him. He expected everything in his life to be that way.

When his kitten had hauled off, punched Julius and broke his nose, he thought it was classic Akihito until he saw the look on his face. That he had decided to run wasn't good. Akihito should've realised there were other people around who could have protected him if he didn't think he could look out for himself. But then Akihito wasn't the only one to ran from Julius, that had been Izaya's reaction as well; that was what had thrown Asami the most this evening.

'Fuck, what WAS that about?' He had never seen it coming. 'If Izaya was afraid of Julius, that was something that needed to be figured out as soon as possible.' Maybe that was why Izaya was here in Tokyo. Izaya's return had made Asami realise he had gotten complacent as the apex predator of the food chain, and had left himself open for attack. But he would never change loving Akihito; he felt having his boy to care for and protect made him a better man. But Akihito could also be in serious trouble if this all went south.

Asami frowned. Izaya; why couldn't he ever do anything simple? He always just had to leave a cryptic message behind. 'So this must be how Akihito feels whenever I play mind games with him. I suppose police tape wrapped around my naked, defenceless kitten could be a sign that he, as well as Izaya, was either in trouble or vulnerable, and their only connection was Julius.

I should arrange to meet Feilong with an explanation about Izaya. Feilong is anything but stupid; he'd know something was amiss first when I got involved with the restaurant staff, then when Izaya showed up.'

So where did Izaya fit into this picture? Akihito stirred in his arms. Asami shifted to allow Akihito some space, when something brushing across his leg came to his attention. He slowly slid a hand around the boy's waist, then snaked it down past his navel until his fingers tickled the neatly trimmed blond hair around his kitten's arousal. As Akihito breathed out a soft moan, Asami chuckled. He bent towards Akihito's ear and nuzzled it. "Kitten, think you're 'up' for a wake up call?" Akihito moaned again as his fiancé's warm breath and husky morning voice sent a shiver straight to his morning hard on.

"Kei, where were we?" Asami rolled his eyes at Kirishima's look. "Please don't say it…"

"Of course not. That would be too easy... sir." Kirishima flashed a superior smirk at his friend and boss.

Izaya seemed to have fallen off the grid completely. He was last seen on CCTV (before everything else on the recording had been erased) heading to a local bar with Akihito and Tao in tow. It had been three days since their first family disaster, there had been no sign of him, and Julius was in Tokyo for a business meeting with a local politician. However, having "come across" some interesting evidence of illegal activities perpetrated by that particular politician, Asami had sent some men to visit him later to see what that meeting was really about.

Asami moved back in his chair, thinking. "Their meeting was about future building planning permission, so it looks like Julius wants to expand into Japan. We may have to look into that; I'll ask Mikhail about the European side of Tempest. Izaya has answers, and we need him found..." Asami's voice barely had a shade of emotion in it, but Kirishima knew it was bordering on concern for Izaya's safety.

"Ryuichi, I'm afraid that Akihito will be targeted again. Julius still seems obsessed with you; when he finds out his status..." Kei sat down in the chair opposite Asami, looking concerned.

"Akihito is a target because he is my weakness." Asami grimaced at the thought. 'He is the best kind of weakness to have, though.'

"Kei, have Kazumi assign extra guards to Akihito for now, I'll explain the situation to him later. Make arrangements for us to travel to Hong Kong as soon as Feilong is available. I think I might have to involve him until Izaya is found..." Asami mused 'assuming Izaya is willing to talk, that is...'

As his secretary stood to leave his boss to his paperwork, Asami looked up at him and added "Kirishima, ask Feilong when he thinks we should invite Mikhail to the party." Kirishima bowed and left.

After they left the hotel, Asami had molested Akihito in the back of the limo all the way home. As soon as the penthouse door was opened, Akihito had moved to stand behind the couch, making it a barrier between him and Asami. Asami had raised his eyebrows, giving him a 'what ARE you doing?' look. Pointing a finger at him, Akihito started on him. "Look, I'm sorry for the other night, but my ass needs some time off for good behaviour", keeping a clear distance between him and Asami.

"Indeed? Need I remind my Akihito that I am still somewhat pissed with him?"

"You're pissed, huh. You were the one responsible for all of this; how 'bout you consider some self discipline then and go fuck yourself." Asami's mouth curled into a ferocious grin.

"If you want me to marry you, Mr. Can't-Have-A-Simple-Meal-Without-Causing-Problems, leave off my ass and let me cook dinner." Asami nodded then walked around him off towards the bedroom. Akihito watched him carefully, wondering 'Did I win that round?'. Not sure, he tentatively walked towards the kitchen, keeping one eye towards the bedroom, only relaxing when he heard the shower running.

Trying hard to put Carl aka Izaya aka "biggest pain in human existence" out of his thoughts, instead he got sucked into wondering about his angle, getting all friendly with Akihito; seriously, did Akihito believe half the crap Izaya would spew out? The only thing keeping Asami sane was the thought that as long as Izaya was happy, then Akihito would be protected, and if anything were to happen, then the safest place for his kitten to be, other than by his side, was with his brother. But he was still pissed about Izaya undressing his kitten.

Julius was sitting comfortably in his new Tokyo home, thinking to himself 'I'll go see Asami tomorrow'. Slowly he sipped his drink as he checked out his nose in a mirror; it was a few shades darker where the smaller blond had punched him and it definitely looked swollen. He had heard rumors about the boy: so he was Asami's little plaything, his live-in lover. How come a nobody got Asami Ryuichi when he couldn't? Feeling peevish, he called in a few of his guards and gave them a special assignment: "Take care of that Takaba Akihito."

T.B.C...

Izaya shenanigan's

Izaya: I'm totally fine. I don't cry anymore, I'm so tough ^~^

Asami: Just yesterday you were crying about snakes

Izaya: *tears up* THEY DON'T HAVE ANY ARMS

*Izaya in court*

Lawyer: how do you plea?

Izaya: *looks at Asami*

Asami: *mouths: not guilty*

Izaya: hot milky

Asami: for f*ck sake just lock him up


	22. 22 A Yuletide season's tale Bonus

Chapter 22: A Yuletide Season's Tale

Chapter by Sleepy_robin

Summary:

**BONUS**

Notes:

Just a small extra Chapter

Chapter Text

Once upon a time, as our antihero and his true love sat down to enjoy a tasty home cooked meal and talked about the day's events, Asami came up with a surprise announcement. "I want to have a fairy tale themed gala at Club Sion next month as a fundraiser for my children's charities."

"Why? Were the kids you've eaten recently too scrawny, so you want to fatten them up a little for the holiday?"

Ignoring Akihiko, Asami put his cutlery down, pushed his chair back and moved so Akihito was wrapped up tight in his embrace. His kitten squawked "Oi! Less mauling, more eating; dinner's getting cold."

Giving his blond a squeeze, Asami returned to his seat and resumed talking between mouthfuls. "I was thinking you should go as Cinderella."

"Seriously? I think we're more like Beauty and the Beast. You know, more in line with our strange and wonderful relationship. You're very, VERY strange, and I'm just wonderful..."

"Akihito, you are not a beast."

"Funny, but looks aren't everything..."

"Sleeping Beauty." That suggestion was met by a very rude noise. "You seem to want to portray me as some sort of villain when I am obviously Prince Charming, my cute Akihito."

"Uh huh, and you seem to want me as a princess... or at lest, as a damsel in dis dress. Oh, I know... I'll be Harry Potter!" Asami furrowed his brow, not at all pleased with the suggestion.

"I am not going as He Who Must Not Be Named" he said, slightly offended, knowing perfectly well what Akihito was getting at. The blond snickered.

"Well then, you could go as your alter ego The Grinch, and I'd be Max, the little dog."

Asami chuckled at that one. "And who would ever mistake you for my sidekick?"

"I guess you're right. Besides, The Grinch's heart grew three sizes that day. Who'd even believe you had one?"

With a rumbling laugh, Asami took a playful swipe at his boy, who easily dodged it and slid away from the table, edging towards the open space between the dining area, the living room and the hallway that ran from the front door to the bedrooms, which Asami had started locking after coming home when one particular chase had lead to Akihito fleeing the penthouse via the fire stairway at the end of their hall, Asami thundering in hot pursuit. After catching his wildcat several floors down, the resulting loud echoes of laughter and cursing, accompanied by meaty thwacks whenever Asami's hand connected with Aki's rump propped over his broad shoulder as he carried his boy back up the stairs to their apartment had resulted in numerous noise complaints to the front desk.

Pushing back from the table, Asami sat unmoving, arms crossed over his chest, not wanting to deal with another scolding from Kei in the morning, no matter how much fun the night before would have been in the secret room.

Pouting when he saw Asami was unwilling to play his game tonight, he relaxed and walked over to the table. "Fine. How about Red Riding Hood." Asami grinned at that one.

"And who would I be, the Woodcutter or the Big Bad Wolf?"

"Well, seeing as how you like preying on innocent, impressionable young photographers, which do you think is more appropriate?"

Asami growled as he picked up his kitten, sat him across his lap and devoured Akihito's lips thoroughly. Then nipping his way up his love's neck, he whispered seductively in his ear: "Speaking of predation, should I clear you and the table now and continue with my feast, or should I drag you back to my lair, where you can make as much noise as you want to, and finish taking you apart there?"

Stepping off the elevator five weeks later, Akihito glanced at the new text message on his phone. "Be ready at 8 p.m. I shall send my carriage for you and your friends to bring you hence to the ball".

Akihito had arrived home cold, tired and hungry. As he went to grab a quick shower, there on the bed was a large textured gold foil box with a beautiful red satin bow, folded and tucked into an intricate giant chrysanthemum flower. Forgetting his fatigue, he captured it on his phone camera before he carefully undid the metres of ribbon and opened the lid: inside, nestled in expensive wrapping paper was his costume. A huge smile flashed over his face, banishing the tiredness away.

Club Sion was all abuzz with the Who's Who of Tokyo society invited, all dressed in fine costumes. Tonight was "Winter Solstice Magic", the Sion Children's Charities fundraiser event of the season. Akihito was wired for sound, his two best friends having come dressed as Tweddle Dum and Tweddle Dee, all thanks to Asami's bottomless credit card and Kirishima sending them to one of the most exclusive costume shops in the city. Following Suoh aka the Cowardly Lion up to the VIP lounge, appetizers and drinks were ordered, then Akihito began scanning the crowd for any telltale sign of the host of tonight's event.

Said host was up in the manager's office, having finished dressing in his costume and having his makeup professionally done. Standing at the one-way floor to ceiling windows overlooking the crowd, he had spotted his darling uninvited little brother here and there amongst the party-goers, schmoozing and apparently doing a little fund raising of his own, charming the jewelry off of some of the unsuspecting victims while relieving others of wallets or cash, all while dressed as Robin Hood. 'Well,' he thought unsympathetically, 'they had fair warning. Serves them right for letting him get too close.' Taking one last sip of his drink before setting the glass aside, he alerted Kirishima (dressed as the White Rabbit) to Izaya's presence and his activities to allow him to head off any whisper of scandal tomorrow, then sent Suoh to bring Akihito up the him before turning off the lights.

Suoh returned shortly to the boy's side, and bending slightly he whispered in Akihito's ear that Asami-sama was waiting for him upstairs in the manager's office. Akihito picked up his small wicker basket filled with cupcakes, waved to his bros and headed upstairs towards "Grandma's house".

It was dark when he entered the room, with only the party downstairs lighting the office. Akihito stepped in, heading towards the window when he felt an ominous presence behind him. As he spun about, he saw white teeth grin in the dark as strong arms captured Akihito's waist and pulled him closer.

"What big eyes you have" Akihiko murmured as his fingers caressed Asami's cheek.

"All the better to see you with, Little One."

Akihito grinned, and lifted his hand up to his beloved's hair. "Oh, what big ears you have" he sighed, gently running his finger over the fluffy dark ears sitting on top of his head.

"All the better to hear you... moaning my name in about five minutes, my dear."

Chuckling, the blond continued. "My, what big teeth you have", running a finger over the tip of one of the canines protruding over Asami's bottom lip.

"Mmm, well... all the better to eat you with" he growled softly, and with that he bit down on Akihito's neck, below where his red hooded cape would show the mark. When he finally pulled away, Akihito stared at Asami's costume. He was freaking adorable in black pointy ears, a prosthetic nose and muzzle with whiskers, his sharp canines and in a very nice dark brown suit complete with a large fluffy black tail. Akihito couldn't help himself from stroking the tail, which seemed to amuse Asami to no end.

"Akihito, really." Akihiko looked up into Asami's teasing eyes. "I didn't take you for a fur fetishist."

Akihiko huffed as he carried on stroking the tail.

Asami's hand trailed along Akihito's back, stroking gently as he looked at his kitten's dark silhouette reflected in the window: spiky blond strands spilling out from under his red hood, a buttoned up white short sleeved shirt under black suspenders attached to tight black shorts that curved around his boy's ass so nicely. The cape was an inch longer than the hem of the shorts. So far, a very tasty package, 'til his hand reached the garter riding his kitten's thigh. Between the top of the black legging and the cuffed hem of the shorts was an expanse of bare, smooth skin, bridged only by the red garter strap that clipped onto the legging at the front and back, then disappeared under the boy's shorts.

As his fingers felt the warm silky feel of his flesh under his hand, his eyes travelled down those long, strong athletic legs to the black Doc Marten lace up boots at the ends. Pulling Akihito in closer, he looked into that gorgeous face, and saw someone (probably Kou's girlfriend from the night at the cop shop) had highlighted his eyes with a thin line of eyeliner then mascara, making those blue eyes pop, then used a subtle touch of blush across his cheeks and nose with a smattering of penciled in freckles, and finally a soft pink gloss on those kissable lips. Akihito could feel Asami's cock stiffen, and started to tease him more.

"Gracious, what a big co-" Asami swallowed Akihito's observation in a wet, hungry kiss. Several minutes later, when they both came up for air, Akihito had a big cheeky grin on his face as he put a restraining hand against his bigger lover's chest.

"Hey! None of that now! You still have to make a speech, greet your guests, take photos with people for the news, host the party AND take pictures with Kou, Takato and me for Feilong, Yoh and Tao, plus save a dance or two with me later, so no hanky-panky to ruin your costume, or more importantly: mine, you big bad wolf you!" Sticking out his tongue, he winked and added "Simon says!"

Raising an eyebrow, Asami looked at his kitten, kissing him again even after all his protests. Then smirking, he shook his head in mock dismay, and with a mournful voice asked "You expect me to do all that while you leave me hard and wanting, having to make do with glimpses of you all night? And you say I'm cruel?!"

"What can I say, old man? When it comes to being a heartless bastard, I learned from the best." With that, he turned in Asami's arms to face away from him, then kicked him in the instep with the heel of his boot while he hit him hardish in the upper thigh near his groin as the opposite elbow shoved him in his solar plexus. Asami grunted as he dropped his arms, one hand going to protect his groin while the other covered the dull ache in his chest. Akihito walked towards the door, swinging his basket of goodies back and forth. He paused for a moment, looking behind him at a very unamused yakuza crimelord, and said "If you can keep that North Pole of yours safely in your pants tonight, THEN we'll talk about giving you a treat for being a good boy when we get home, ok?" And with that, he left the room.

Asami narrowed his eyes, thinking for the nth time since they had reunited that while he was grateful that Feilong had looked after his Akihito while they were separated, he really wished the Chinese crime boss hadn't taught him to defend himself so well. After all, Big Bad Wolves still needed their tasty little morsel, too.

Izaya shenanigan's

Izaya: Hey guys, what's the difference between snowmen and snowwomen?

Asami: Don't.

Izaya: Snowballs

Asami: "..."

Asami: Kei get my gun


	23. Just a note

**Hello just to say to everyone I uploaded chapters 21 & 22 on 5th May but I think notification didn't go out also a few reviews didn't get through there was a problem with ff over the last few days, so hopefully you got to read the chapters if not let me know...Thankyou**


	24. 23 while the cats away

Restart

Chapter 23: While the Kitten's Away…

Mikhail for once was sitting quietly in his office going through some documents about a shipment of "goods" coming in later that evening when he received some information about his crush Feilong.

Mikhail was stunned: a couple of his informants located in Shinjuku phoned him about some events from the other night. The head of Baishe, his darling Feilong, had a cozy dinner with Asami Ryuichi and a few guests. Confused was the understatement of the year! What bothered him the most was if this was business related, why wasn't he invited, or at least given a head-up by Fei? Or Asami? What interested him as a distant second was the fact that a tall blond man had kissed Asami in public, and lived to walk away. Huh.

When he learned that the tall blond was none other than that arrogant prick Julius Keel, he just about shit bricks. Oh yeah, Mikhail knew all about him. He was based out of England and had the ability to transfer many thing across any number of borders throughout Europe. He was a temperamental brat, so negotiations were sometimes just a futile gesture.

Rumor had it Keel wanted to get into favor with the oldest Italian mafia family, the Medicis. A very influential, very dangerous family, nothing went anywhere in Europe without their consent. Even Interpol was rumored to be secretly run by the Medicis. Mikhail knew they were powerful enough that he didn't want to mess with them, but luckily Mikhail knew a man who worked for the Medicis and was in their good graces.

What pissed Mikhail off completely was the idea of Feilong, in a very intimate setting, with Asami. Thinking about his options, he decided to play nice, maybe let Asami know about Keel's recent history. But what amused Mikhail the most was hearing that Asami's pet had stepped up and punched Keel in the nose. He always had a chuckle whenever a mouse roared. However, he knew that Keel's a very vain, vindictive man, so no doubt a price would be put on the young man's head if his nose was broken, and Takaba would be disposed of.

Mikhail's informants also described another boy that later kicked Keel in the nether regions then fled; they thought his name was Izaya.

Mikhail had only talked to an Izaya once, which he would never forget: a very beautiful, clever young man with rather unusual eye color. A small time information broker, Izaya had advised him about Sakazaki and Suduo when Sion was first attacked. He hadn't told Asami that he had a sneaky suspicion that Sion's attack was orchestrated by an outside party due to Izaya's 'overhearing' a few phone calls while he was staying near those pair of losers in the guest quarters. Something niggled at the back of his mind; it had felt like those two were just a setup, a pair of fall guys should something go wrong. But, it was just a feeling, and The Great Asami Ryuichi preferred to deal in facts. However, hearing that Keel was in Tokyo, sniffing around Asami while Feilong was present certainly set his teeth on edge.

Mikhail's itchy brain was telling him Keel had his sights set on Sion, or Asami, or maybe both. That failed attempt of Suduo and Sakazaki was over three years in the past, maybe it was time for this Keel to try again. It would be a powerful coup for anyone to takeover Sion and have the indomitable Asami Ryuichi as their willing lapdog…

"Petrov, Victor, go and ask nicely our contact Alessandro if he has any information about Julius Keel and any connection with either the Medicis or Asami Ryuichi. Ask discreetly, but I do need the information as soon as possible."

Mikhail's mind was thinking of several different scenarios, the worst one being Sion falling into Keel's hands, then him having the ability to challenge the Medicis if he and Asami were in bed together, figuratively or… Shaking that thought away, he realised that information was key, so if this Izaya was still about, then he might know something.

Mikhail spent most of the day calling in favors and working his connections, in both the legal and not-so-legal procurement sectors of his business. He knew he would be more than disappointed if he was the only one of his "friends" who didn't have any relevant info to dish!

As the day progressed, busier than usual, he had a very surprising, lucrative phone call come through.

"Hello, Feilong, what can I do for you, my beautiful flying dragon...?" he teased, purring into the phone.

Asami had been all but surgically attached to Akihito since the night of the family disaster. Akihito wasn't sure what was going on in the crime lord's head…. Okay, Akihito didn't have a clue, full stop, what normally went through Asami mind; however, his behavior lately had been completely over the top.

It's was like Asami was guarding Akihito from some unknown threat, just more hands-on than usual. Akihito was wondering what had happened the other night after he left the restaurant with Tao. He remembered bumping into Carl and going for a drink but nothing else. Maybe Tao's guards had shown up and brought them home, well, back to the hotel.

At breakfast the next day Feilong had scolded Akihito loudly, not at all caring about the effects of his angry voice on two raging hangovers, for allowing Tao to drink too much. All Akihito could do was apologise even though he knew consciously he wouldn't have allowed Tao to get drunk. Feilong had grounded Tao, (no leaving his room, no books, no electronic media AT ALL), so Akihito couldn't contact him for a week. Let's hear it for Feilong, super Dad of the year...

However, Akihito was still royally pissed. He decided that he would do some investigating of his own while he was away; he wanted to know who this wanker Julius Keel was; nothing too deep, but enough to get a general idea if he was a threat to Asami or himself.

Akihito was up and ready to go before Asami, which was unusual; however, his excuse was he'd be going away for a week on university business: he was heading out of town to assess some hotels and various photography locations for the upcoming department trip. Asami was, shall we say, "somewhat reluctant" for Akihito to leave, but he did relent when Akihito agreed to take on an extra guard to accompany him while he's away.

Akihito was leaning over the table, writing Asami a quick note. He had his earphones on, listening to music and swaying his hips to the beat, back turned towards the bedroom hall.

"Ryuichi... do not. touch. my ass" he said distinctly, though his voice had a thread of laughter through it. Asami halted his forward movement, as 'how the hell did he know' went through his mind.

"I can feel your eyes mauling my ass." Akihito finish his note, about to move when a strong hand gripped his hip, pulling the boy backwards as the other hand moved up under his shirt to make sure Akihito stayed in position.

"I like what you're offering, Kitten." Asami's hand slid up over Akihito's spine then back towards his hip.

"Ryuichi..." Asami allowed Akihito to turn around; when Akihito faced him, he was greeted with a frown. Ignoring him, Asami proceeded to kiss him breathless, pulling him against his chest. Akihito couldn't help but weave his fingers through Asami's dark hair, even though he had probably just finished styling it.

"What's with the note?" Akihito gasped as he desperately tried to get his head in gear.

"It was to remind you I'll be back Thursday night, and some microwave instructions for the food in the fridge." For a moment Asami's own oxygen starved brain was lost until he remembered Akihito saying he was going on a scouting mission for the university trip.

Akihito broke away to turn and write something else on the note. "Stop right there, mister!" He said sharply. "Do not come near me, I'm getting ready to head out." Akihito threw a grin over his shoulder and watched as Asami stopped in his tracks again. Akihito put the pen down, then swivelled around, making his shirt rise enough to flash his midriff, watching as Asami's eyes focused for a moment on the dragon belly chain and the skin beneath it.

Akihito smirked as he jumped back to sit on the edge of the table, looking straight at Asami, who was now, more than ever, needing to touch Akihito inappropriately. Akihito shook his finger at his lover, indicating no.

"Nope, uh uh, no you don't." Akihito smiled coyly, winking at Asami.

"Akihito, do you think I'd actually do anything?"

He rolled his eyes. "I know damn well know you're going to do something" Akihito hummed. "I'd be disappointed if you didn't."

Asami moved closer, silently offering his hand, which Akihito accepted and slid off the table, coming to Asami. Tilting his head back, he offered up his lips for a kiss. Instead, his taller lover wrapped both arms around him tight and went directly to biting him gently on the side of his neck, wringing a moan from Akihito.

"Damn right, Kitten; you always make me want to do something" he rumbled before kissing him deeply. Akihito's hands dug into his lover's thick bathrobe, scraping through the material at the muscular flesh beneath. Finding that wasn't getting the response he wanted, he dug his fingers in and slid his claws down Ryuichi's back until his reached ass meat, which he clenched in tight handfuls. Ryuichi inhaled in pleasure as he leaned back when the blond dug into his glutes harder. Snapping his head forward, he licked up one side of that creamy neck, then bit his way down the other as his large hands made their way to the hem of the blond's shirt. Rather than take time to unbutton the boy's shirt, he lifted it straight up, peeling it off over his head and arms, discarding the inside-out top somewhere nearby. One of his hands slid up between the blond's shoulder blades to support him as Ryuichi dipped him back slightly to lick and nibble first at one pink pebble, then the other as Akihito shuddered and gasped, still clinging to his Ryu.

Ryuichi's hands went to his boy's waist and lifted him onto his back on the table. Breaking free of Akihito's death grip on his ass cheeks, he pushed his sexy kitten back and lifted his legs until the boy's knees where bent and his feet were flat on the tabletop. Getting his hands on the boy's pants waist, he made short work of the button and zipper, removing both pants and underwear at the same time he gently swallowed the boy's balls into his mouth. Akihito arched his back off the table as Asami played with them on his tongue, then released them to start sucking possessive love marks up his thigh… 'gods, does he have any idea how totally gloriously erotic he is?' Asami wondered as he ran a hand down the curve of Akihito's ass , digging his nails in lightly. "What time is your train?"

"Umm, about… f-four (loud gasp) hu-hours from now… Why, Ryu, do y-you think (long, low moan) ahhh, I'm nuts…?" Asami grinned, then returned to using his talented tongue. He hadn't planned on fucking Akihito this morning, but once Akihito moaned and arched his back like that (in no particular order), Asami's mind went straight to the gutter as he pulled Akihito up into his arms then on into the bedroom.

Two hours later-

"Have a good trip, Kitten. Don't strain yourself. And behave." Kissing him one last time he then smacked his rump just as Akihito smirked at the last comment; throwing Asami a look as he walked out the door. "Fine, as long as you don't do anything I wouldn't do. And don't kill anyone without checking with me first, koibito. I may want a piece of them." He flashed him a last cheeky wink as the front door clicked shut behind him.

Asami glanced at the note to read it, then chuckled to himself as he folded it in half, sliding it into his pants pocket; he then turned towards the kitchen thinking a black coffee would be good right about now.

Asami was heading towards Sion, feeling quite satisfied with how the morning went, when Kei texted him, letting him know the extra guards were on the way to where Akihito's group was, and that Julius Keel was his first meeting.

Asami's good mood instantly evaporated. Looking at his Patek Philippe watch, he calculated Akihito had just left Tokyo. Asami was feeling a bit tense being away from his lover; hopefully, if Julius was here, maybe he could focus his attention on him and keep Akihito safe.

Asami then decided that if Akihito was aware of a possible threat, he'd be more cooperative with his security team; there'd be no need to say whom the threat was, exactly, but he'd probably readily work that out. Pulling out his phone with a snigger, he also wanted to tease him over the naughty bit he'd added to the note, which was still in his pocket.

Talking to Akihito on the phone, he kept his voice neutral as he spoke,

he mentioned in passing, as nice as possible, just to keep alert but not to worry. Akihito's voice, in return, was calm; he said he understood and assured the yakuza that he was wearing the garrote necklace, the hidden knife bracelet and the weighted belly chain that Yoh and Feilong gave him.

Business had, as of late, been boring, both the illegal and the legal types. Still no news on Izaya; not surprising, but still Asami felt a little hurt that Izaya felt he couldn't come to him. Frowning, he pushed that disturbing thought out of his head. And his Akihito hadn't been gone more then a few hours, but he was missing his feisty little wildcat. 'I must be having a stress-induced mental crisis of my own: not only am I missing Akihito, but my annoying little brother, too.' Hopefully, Kirishima had some news about what Julius' true intentions were for being here in Tokyo.

It had been over a week since Julius appeared and Izaya disappeared. Kirishima had looked everywhere, but when Izaya didn't want to be found, well, he had always been good at hide 'n' seek as a child. Asami was going through files and reading documents as the limo drove to Sion, his mind wandered as always to Akihito. Hopefully, being out of Tokyo would make him safer; however, being separated from his addictive boy for more than a few hours always made him uneasy.

Asami was trying hard not to let Julius' presence here in Tokyo annoy him too much, but still, instinctively he'd been hovering around Akihito like a bee around honey. It was a given Akihito had been punished for kissing Fei, running away then coming back all but naked (and he really didn't care if the last one wasn't strictly his boy's fault..).

The elevator pinged then opened onto his floor, where he was greeted with the sight of Kirishima talking to Julius. Kei threw a warning look at Asami; unsure of what was trying to be conveyed, Asami prepared himself.

"Ryuichi, darling, how are you? Forgive my dropping by, but I had to just come and see you, you always look so delicious." Coming up to greet Asami, Julius gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Asami had been rendered speechless by this. Kirishima coughed discretely, bringing Asami back to the task at hand.

"Kirishima, bring us some tea while I have a chat with out guest" he requested, moving away to head into his office.

Julius sat on one of the couches, legs crossed. Asami placed his brief case on his desk then moved to sit opposite his "guest". Lighting a cigarette, Asami studied Julius; he hadn't changed much since the university days. Taking a deep draw on his Dunhill, he tried his best to ignore the fact that his old acquaintance was sitting where he and his Akihito had reunited.

"So, what do you want to talk about? No doubt you understand that I am a busy man and really I haven't the time for your..." he chose his words carefully, "unexpected visit."

Julius face contorted in anger: Asami was already dissing him like he was nothing.

"Well, sweetie, I am looking for a certain individual and I wanted to ask if you have seen this particular young man. He was at the hotel the other night. He goes by Orihara Izaya and seeing as you were... entertaining…, I was wondering if you knew anything about him?" Asami's well practiced business mask was the only thing keeping him from either recoiling or attacking at this pronouncement; only his eyes showed the merest hint of anger.

"Excuse me, but I'm not quite sure what you are asking for."

"Now now, don't play dumb Ryuichi, it doesn't suit you in the least."

"For your information, I was entertaining a Chinese trading partner and his entourage. Who is this Izaya to you; and what do you want with the young man?"

"Darling, I will believe you this once, for old time's sake… he is in possession of something that belongs to me, and I want it back."

Asami looked at the big blond as he inhaled some smoke, thinking 'so, that's half of the truth'.

"Very well; as always, my help isn't for free" he replied, smirking at how silly Julius could be.

"Bring Izaya to me and I will make sure you are well… compensated... Ryuichi." Julius purred as he gave him a suggestive smile.

Asami sat there, ignoring the look, thinking over his dead body would he give Izaya to him; however, he would look for Izaya as requested, because he had some questions that needed to be answered too.

"But again, I can't see how this would be of benefit me…" Asami sighed as his smirk appeared.

"I promise, if you bring me the young man, you will see how grateful I can be." Asami sat emotionless, wanting Julius out of his office. Now.

"I've heard you have a lo..." he stopped, unable to say the word 'lover' "uh, 'pet' living with you. It would would be… unfortunate… if something should happen to such a feisty little thing because you decided to be uncooperative." Julius leaned forward, each word dripping with sarcastic venom. Apparently, in his not-nearly-long-enough absence, he had forgotten just who the fuck he wasn't intimidating.

"Julius, it would be beneficial for any of your future endeavors in Tokyo for you not to come into my office and start dictating what I should or shouldn't do while you're wasting my valuable time and annoying me."

Asami wanted to punch him hard in the face, then remembered that Akihito had already beaten him to it; that thought made a small smile twitch his lips as his anger subsided to a slow simmer. Julius smiled and stood up.

"Dinner, 8 p.m. tomorrow, at the Tokyo Ritz hotel. We can discuss our "future endeavors" then, Ryuichi." With that he left, leaving Asami with a bad taste in his mouth, and the desire to spit it out.

Asami just wanted Julius to leave Japan and go back to England by way of the Titanic. Just being near him made him feel dirty (!); however, Asami needed information of his own, so reluctantly dinner with him was necessary. With any luck, it would delay any attack that may have been planned.

It had taken every fibre of Asami's being not to just shoot him there and then. Not only had that gaijin threatened him in his own place of business, but then he had threatened both Akihito and Izaya as well. Every bone in his body wanted to strangle that man into submission, cut open his chest, tear his heart out with his bare hands, all while making him watch as the last seconds of his life were spent in total agony. No, wait, that is what he would do when he found out why he is back here again after so long.

Kirishima entered the office after Julius left, looking like he was chewing on a native giant hornet. He placed the hot drink in front of his friend and boss, then sat in the chair opposite and sipped the other one. "Julius doesn't seem to have changed much; he is still a terrible flirt with you, plus his arrogance seems to have tripled too!"

Asami sipped his tea, slowly trying to put his agitation to one side.

"If he thinks he can touch either Akihito or Izaya, he is very much mistaken" he sighed, knowing the gweilo would no doubt try.

"Ryuichi, we've known each other for a long time. You must try and separate your emotions surrounding Takaba and Izaya from this equation." Kei knew that whenever Akihito was involved, Asami's cold logic pretty much went out the window. But now that Izaya was involved as an unknown quantity, Kei was in the dark about how Asami would react if his younger brother got hurt. Or, heaven forfend, if he had to choose between them.

 _ **By late afternoon warm sunlight was streaming into Asami**_ _ **'**_ _ **s office. Sion**_ _ **'**_ _ **s business side still had to be maintained; any possible personal threat Julius posed would have to wait.**_

 _ **Asami was discussing upcoming meetings for the following week with Kirishima, when suddenly a loud bang was heard by a yelp of a pain. They dismissed it after sharing a look, thinking it was someone working in the outer offices being clumsy.**_

 _ **Not too much later they heard it again, this time followed by quiet cursing and a voice**_ _ **"**_ _ **that**_ _ **'**_ _ **s going to leave a mark in the morning~**_ _ **"**_ _ **Asami suddenly glared viciously at nothing noticing the familiar playful speech pattern. He knew it was too good to be true to have a nice quiet normal day at work.**_

 _ **Sighing in defeat, he slowly rising to his feet and walking into the middle of the office while Kei watches with an eyebrow in silent curiosity. Asami shuts his eyes as if he was waiting for any sudden noises. Kei was about to ask a question on his bosses strange intriguing actions when a sudden sneeze was heard followed by another bang and then a crash. Asami**_ _ **'**_ _ **s eyes snap open as he strides over to the spare room also known as the**_ _ **'**_ _ **panic room**_ _ **'**_ _ **. Slamming open the door he was greeted by an frustrated looking Izaya wrapped in a blanket, surrounding by piles of used tissues, a table lying on its side and a discarded laptop on the floor.**_

 _ **Asami quickly essaying what happened in the room, he works out that his younger brother must have flipped the table in sudden anger.**_ _ **"**_ _ **What do you think you are doing?**_ _ **"**_ _ **Izaya snaps his attention to Asami just realising that he entered the room. The younger of the males seemed to be in some sort of daze, causing slight concern to Asami. Sure, he was annoying and incredibly difficult to deal with but he was still family and Asami cares for his well-being. Izaya was about to open his mouth, most likely to tease his older brother but instead he sneezed causing him to scowl.**_

 _ **Asami walks towards Izaya and squishes his face together using one hand while he bopped him on the nose, testing for any sort of fight or flight action, only to receive no movement. Asami hums to himself; his younger sibling has been rendered harmless by a simple cold. While Asami was working out what was wrong with Izaya, Kei silently fixed the table and place the laptop where it was originally was. Without any word, Izaya turns back to typing furiously.**_

 _ **Asami was seriously debating his options: he needed to know where Izaya has been, what is his connection with Julius Keel and why he was in the panic room, apparently working on something but then again, did he really want to know answer to the last question? Knowing him, it could literally be anything. Asami decided to leave that be for now, he was close by and would be easy to deal with in his weakened state.**_

 _ **He begins to leave only to hesitate, finally making his mind up he turns to Kei and speaks with a dreaded voice**_ _ **"**_ _ **Kei, You are to stay in here and help Izaya with whatever he is doing, he is not in the correct mind set which can cause dangerous mistakes which can get him harmed or even killed**_ _ **"**_ _ **Kei opens his mouth in disbelief but after hearing silent worry in his bosses voice he takes a place next to the ill male and snatches the laptop. Izaya just looks around the room as if it was his first time being in that room, Asami decides to leave and get back to his own work.**_

 _ **Once Asami was finished with his work for today, he enters the panic room. Izaya looked like he would collapse at any second while Kei was focused intently on the work in front of him. Asami wordlessly walks over to Izaya and lifts him up bridal style deciding to take him back home so he can look after him, before he leaves he tells Kei that he will be staying home and do the work there till Izaya is either fully recovered or well enough to be alone.**_

Kirishima helped Izaya when he finished he quietly spoke " Izaya seems to be running a fever should I call your physician to look at him before you leave for the evening"

Kirishima walked into the office placing a folder in front of Asami, " Sir... this all I could get on Julius, in brief he is here to open another Tempest club, quite close to your territory he also has a clubs in Italy, France and England. We already know he has connects to the European underworld however I have learnt that there is a rumour which you need to confirme with Mikhail to confirm, Asami raised his eyebrow as Kirishima was using his _ voice which indicated he was worried.

It seems that Julius is or is trying to join the Merdici which if true he will be more difficult to kill, I have enclosed information on the Merdici in the folder I just given you!

Asami long finger slid opened the folder Kirishima gave him

The Merdici are the unofficial guards who protect the laws of the Mafia world. All merdici are former bosses that have survived the removal of their retirement , united under a single cause by (insert Italian name) the founder of the organization.

They each carry a stone a very rare crystal as a testament to their former life, in a signet ring, which was left as a remainder after forcibly removed their original _s.

Those who defy their laws are said to be detained without hesitation and are doomed to spend the rest of their lives in an inescapable prison known as the _?_ Prison, though their allies can negotiate their release, so far no one detained has ever been released.

The Merdici have been around for as long as the Mafia has existed, with them being the vocal point of the agreement made between (insert Italian name) and (Italian surname) Simon.

Their reputation among the Mafia World precedes them, as they are said to show no mercy, even to devils. It is clear they attract a great deal of fear, as anyone, even government states know it isn't wise to mess with them.

While the true extent of their powers are unknown, although they are obviously quite powerful as they are all former bosses, it is known that only three people in the world have the power to deceive the Merdici.

The strength of the Merdici is immense, as they had to guard two of the strongest mafia bosses from high ranking family, Another implication of their immense strength is the fact that they themselves have stated that they could've taken care of _?_if they wanted to.

However, the Merdici cannot create their own _; they rely on (Italian name) to supply them with the _.

The Merdici also appear to use Rings as one of them used _.

The Merdici also take extreme precautions to protect anyone from knowing about the _ that they use.

Closing the folder mind racing with all the information worst case scenario, if he managed to persuade Mikhail to Alli himself with Feilong and himself they had a equally strong army, to repel the European mafia if it came to war, was Julius that stupid to stand against Asami, looking out his office window a thought flashed in his mind.

The attack on Sion three years ago may have been more to it, maybe the two shits who set Akihiko up maybe we're just were puppets, now thinking about it if Sion had fallen then he would be weaken enough to be topled.

"argh...was that why Izaya came back into his life?" to many scenario's wirrled around Asami head but was Julius that smart "doubtful" but Asami knew he was in this business long enough to trust his gut.

"Sir ... Mikhail is on line 1..." Kirishima voice coming through the intercom...

"Kirishima is Feilong ready with the inivition to Mikhail, as soon as Akihiko back from his trip we will head for Hong Kong straight away, please prepare everything!"

Julius was relaxing in his hotel suite, when the door rapped, his bodyguard opened the door without a word two men walked in, it was an unexpected visit Julius stood slightly nervous for a second until he relaxed to his arrogant self again making the guest feel at home ordered tea to be delivered to the room, these two men we're also in the limo the night Julius left the hotel with an injury to his nose.

The two men one tall lanky completely grey hair in a cheap looking business suit did most of the talking, the other man was different tall with a broad chest his hair raven black with a strip of white running threw it, he kept quite most of the time he seemed to observe more than contribute smoking dunhills and smirking now and again.

Business was long and boring the guy that smoked just agreed every now and again to whatever Julius was planning his voice irritating knowing he was gonna have a migraine by the end of this improtuted meeting it wasn't until Julius meantioned a name 'izaya' that the man with the smirk paid attention.

"do you know where Izaya is now?" the man with the cigarette asked calmly as he blew smoke towards the window his fingers wrapped around a his cane, it was ebony with silver tips the handle was a panther with deep golden jeweled eyes tapping the silver animal with his unique golden ring.

"I have a few men looking for him as we speak, I think he has some connected with Ryuichi, I mean Asami the CEO of Sion, however I cannot confirm this" feeling irk with not having information in his hand, this was a new sensation to Julius usual by now he have detailed information including breast fed or bottle.

Asami Ryuichi was a ghost except for the tabloid news article about his recent flings, if Asami was a ghost what was Izaya 'invisible' they had been looking for Izaya for over 10months, there was nothing on Izaya unless someone introduce you to him.

Julius was just lucky they bumped into each other, but knowing Izaya was in Tokyo Julius could feel his dream closer than before.

"do you really think Izaya is still in Tokyo, after he ran into you, he may have feld to another country" the raven hair man commented as he finished smoking subbing out his cigarette.

"trust me ... Izaya still here, I just know" the man looked at the blond with doubting eyes

"fufufu...Julius, we are here to conclude business not for you get all obsessively creepy over Asami Ryuichi, we have no fight with him. personally I would like to keep it that way, also Izaya we all know Izaya is aloner working for no one I believe he has already left as soon as he saw you in the hotel. now Julius if you are going to throw a tantrum can you please wait till I have left as I am a very busy" smirking at the blond who was about to blow his top.

"you have no right to speak to me like that don't you know who I am?" Julius stood up to show his strength, when the man with raven hair placed a unlit cigarette in his smirking lips, stood with grace and ease fixed his jacket and turned his head towards Julius with a smirk as he lent on his cane fingers caressing the silver panther.

"well Julius, it seems you have forgotten who I am so be a good boy and 'sit down' " with that Julius just sat down the room and dropped a few degrees the bloke never raised his voice but the command was there he was just about to leave as his hand reached the door handle he turned his head to the two men left.

"I do not want to make Asami Ryuichi an enemy, there is a saying do not wake the dragon..., for good reason, so think before you act, if it comes to my knowledge that he gets involved in our business. Julius..." now his eyes flicking dangerously,

"I will personally take everything you own...so do tread carefully!" with that he was gone.

Julius stared at the door his heart racing he knew ever since that man arrived he was dangerous but he thought he could handle him, however only been in a couple of meetings with him he soon realised he was a different league.

Julius started laughing the other guy looked on as if he was crazy "Julius you are not going to do something stupid I would hate for it to end badly" the lanky man stood to leave.

"if he thinks I scare easily he has another think coming plus once I get my hands on Izaya notebook then I have that man walking on all fours begging me to spare his life." the lanky man gave a sideways glace be he too left the room. as he exited the corridor the elevator door beginnig to shut he thinking back to the confrontation,

"I will bet on the other guy he was way more scary".

((( Merdici like the Italy mafia police who are involved with Julius which Izaya has information on them which was in his notebook he hid it with his brother as potection. but when sion nearly fell the notebook was in danger so Izaya came to protect the book and his brother but is also hiding from Julius for unknown reasons.)))

Asami knew this was a bad idea but he just had to get threw this evening making sure Izaya and Akihiko were safe, however Kirishima did mention before he entered the hotel dinning room that If the little wife found out he would rip him a new one, okay so it made Ryuichi laugh but then realised he was walking a fine line hopefully Akihiko would be blind to this and all will be well however his knot in his gut stated other wise.

Julius was waiting in a selcuded area of the room when as soon as Asami saw him tried to walk back out when souh and Kirishima blocked his escape. okay so he knew why Izaya ran.

"Sir it would be wise to finish what you started and get this Julius out of Tokyo for good, short term pain long term gain"

Asami glared at souh and Kirishima knowing deep down they were secrely enjoying this far to much. "and sir If the wife find out I will help explain your predicament..."

now Kirishima got the full glare as he pushed Asami round and forward towards Julius.

"So Ryuichi, I was very surprised you inviting me for a meal."

"I thought we could discuss Izaya better before I decided, if I want the help or not?" Asami didn't want to do this but he thought while Akihito was away he could move more freely, also there was no way he would give Izaya over.

"if I do look for this Izaya, what is in it for me? Asami looked towards Julius, his mind with images of how he was gonna kill him.

"look Ryuichi...I just need to have a quite chat with the youngman, he is quite an slippery eel to find him but seeing he's in Tokyo i thought you could help me look, seeing you are a very capable man!" smiling as he sipped his wine.

"again what is in it for me?" trying tobe cordial was making Asami skin crawl.

"well, once I have a little chat with the rassacle, I will be in a very secure place and I will be able to offer an allied of some sort" Asami smirked Julius must be desperate to ask for help also even with Izaya Julius still no match for Sion now including The Baishe. wanting the night to end as quickly as possible he thought enough of this charade.

"So you thought I would be more giving when you threaten my pet?" Asami placing his glass alittle too forcefully on the table.

"I suppose it was a little harsh! darling. well after he did hit me I was gonna punish him for such a transgression. I was not to sure if I should believe the rumours at first."

" What rumours" smirking towards Julius.

"Oh he's your permanent lover which I don't believe why would you be interested in that whore?"

"fufufu... Julius we are eatting leave the vugratiy at home let's talk about Izaya, how did you meet him." Julius was obvious to Asami need to rip him apart as he continued to talk about something about Italy a few years ago that he took something, however Asami mind was still on how he would torture keel, I will now slice his tongue for that comment..

"I am willing to look for Izaya, however if you threaten my pet or he come to any harm linking back to you,

'i will take everything you own piece by piece, so tread very carefully... are we clear" Asami trying to keep his emotions away but when it come to Akihito they lay bare near his skin.

"Ryuichi... your pet is the least of my problems?" Asami watched he could tell even after all this time Julius was planning on killing Akihito anyway just because he was with him.

"Julius...I will say this once. I am not yours and you threaten my pet is not gonna change the fact I will never have you in my bed. so our business is concluded if I hear anything I will inform you. and don't come knocking on my door again" Asami could see Julius face for a moment it flashed jealously and anger.


	25. 24 mile high club

Restart...

Chapter 24: Mile high...

Chapter by Sleepy_robin

Summary:

Getting ready to travel to Hong Kong, few hicup's along the way...

Notes:

So lainie took over the my lemon scene god bless her, she is a God among mortals.

Thanks to everyone who supports and read my story I am grateful.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

Chapter 24: The Mile High Club

Kirishima walked into Asami's office followed by Kuroda Shinji wearing his own signature power suit, hair smartly trimmed and styled, and his glasses squarely on his face. Asami smiled, and walked over to him, shaking his offered hand, then pulling him into a hug.

Shinji was an old friend he had known long before going to university with Kei. He was a year behind Asami, and could always be found in a library, either his father's, or his uncle's. That didn't change, even when he got to university.

Asami knew he would find him tucked away with his books.

He especially liked the old texts better than the modern classics, and Asami had got him a extremely rare first edition complete set of "Collected Japanese Poems of Ancient and Modern Times" as a surprise after a particularly trying bit of work he did for Sion, a thank you gift for his friendship and unwavering loyalty.

Only three libraries in Japan had the complete set; several others had loose volumes or incomplete sets.

"Shinji, please." Offering him a seat, Asami took the couch across from him. "Before we get to why you are here, I need to ask you a question."

Kuroda nodded as he accepted his usual drink from Kirishima. Over the years, he learned that Asami's tone could have a different meaning then the words he spoke or the look in his eyes.

"Akihito..." Asami didn't miss his friend's roll of the eyes at the name, he had been vocal in his opinion of Akihito and their relationship from the start, but he had hoped that the fact they were getting married might have mellowed Shinji somewhat. Waiting a moment, he started again.

"Akihito came to see you recently, care to tell me why?" Asami's voice was low and serious, he hadn't been able to work out why Akihito would go to see him; Akihito didn't do criminal photography any more, which still caused a mixture of relief and the tiniest twinge of guilt to fill the crime lord's chest.

"Not particularly, Ryuichi" the visitor replied, shooting him a look that said 'ask that annoying blond'. "I'm not getting involved; if you can't talk to the boy, should you be really be marrying him?" Shinji took a little retaliatory satisfaction for having been subjected to that particular discussion, knowing that answer would ruffle Asami's tail feathers.

After Akihito came to his office, he admitted to himself that he'd started to see why Asami liked him. Separately, they were trouble, and together, they were annoying at best. But seeing a somewhat distressed look in Asami's eyes, Shinji sighed.

"I will say this: confidentiality aside, that meeting will have no detrimental effect on you, personally, or your business interests." Shinji sipped his tea as Kirishima sat in the chair near Asami's desk.

Asami sat looking at Shinji, thinking that over. He was about to speak again when Kirishima cut in. "So, have you thought about what we discussed over the phone?"

Nodding, the district attorney spoke. "I have a few people that I've met over the years that have connections to Interpol and New Scotland Yard. There is no evidence directly connected with Keel, really nothing more than rumours.

From what I've gathered, I suspect that he's a rather shabby imitation of you. If you want him gone from your life, Ryuichi, I would set about plotting a hostile takeover of his company from within." Shinji looked between Kirishima and Asami, knowing it wasn't what they wanted to hear.

He was fortunate enough not to have been subjected to Julius Keel personally the first time, however, he did hear some the stories from back in the day.

"Also, a couple of things came across my desk recently while I was looking into Tempest. First, it seems a local journalist has been digging into Keel and his business, possibly due to the planning permission talks.

Second, there seems to be something of a mysterious man called Drake Ren, a Japanese businessman who has acquired enough shares in Tempest to cause some internal disruptions. The shareholders seem more afraid of him than of Julius.

If you could persuade him to part with some of his shares, then not to oppose you when you make your move, you could easily arrange for a coup d'état of Keel's company. Unlike Sion three years ago, when your shareholders and allies supported you, it seems that he has very little loyalty within his own company. I've sent Kirishima a file on what all I've found out." Finishing his tea, Kuroda stood to leave.

"You're still good to be my Best Man, Shinji?" Asami smirked.

"Yes, of course", the main straightening himself sniffed. Kuroda had said on may occasions he never was convinced 100% about their relationship, but, after having met with Akihito in his office, he had shifted to being only 40% against it; he just hoped that Akihito would never purposely hurt Asami.

"Be sure to let me know when you two finally get around to tying the knot; based on previous data, I might have to make other plans that day as a fallback." Mirroring his friend's smirk, he nodded to Kirishima then walked out of the office.

Face suddenly devoid of any emotion, Asami lit another Dunhill and growled to himself "I should have killed Julius 20 years ago".

Turning to his second in command, he started issuing orders. "Kei, while I'm away with Akihito visiting his "in-laws", get in touch with this man Drake; make a deal, and buy up those shares.

We will start disrupting business at Tempest as soon as possible. I'd prefer to get started with that after we get back from our honeymoon.

Review if there is anyone we should give components of the business to, either as reward, bonus or bribe, I don't want to expand into Europe. I will toss Mikhail the other side of Keel's business as a bone... unless the Merdici have something to say about it.

Check with Mikhail, ask him about these Merdici, see if I can arrange an informal conversation with them. It couldn't hurt to go and see what their thoughts on the subject would be. Maybe Akihito would like to honeymoon in Italy for a few days." Asami paused, his golden eyes gleaming with mischief.

"If you ask me, Ryuichi, you do like playing with fire. If The Wife ever found out you're mixing business with pleasure, Akihito would likely bust a nut. Probably one of yours." Kirishima said, amused.

In the past, he liked that Akihito had never backed down from the his friend, no matter what he did; but now he seemed to delight in giving his boss a hard time on principle. He had grown over the years from an immature little brat into a smarter, bigger brat.

"Kei, while I'm away get anything, everything, we can use lined up." Asami had a determined look now, as if he was forming plans for war. "Call in every favour we have in Europe. I'll ask Izaya what he knows, seeing as how he's the one Keel is looking for.

I want you and Souh to have a few contingency plans ready for when we ask Keel to leave Tokyo, nicely. And Kei, I want you and Suoh to go over all of Tempest's portfolio. I promise to give you both anything you want, first picks."

Asami put his hand on Kirishima's shoulder, looking him in the eyes.

"When it comes down to it, you two have been my rock these past few years. I don't know what I would have done without you and Kazumi having my back." Smiling, Asami squeezed his shoulder, then moved to look over a few documents for his first business meeting.

Kirishima knew what was said about Ryuichi: he's cold, and unfeeling. Yes, so that part's true, however, Asami was also loyal to a fault and would fight to his death for his friends.

He couldn't fathom plotting against any of his actual friends or trusted business partners, even if he was a proponent of keeping his friends close, and his enemies closer in his thoughts. Any kind of betrayal hurt him deeply.

"How is Izaya, sir" he asked, just to get the other man's mind back into the proper frame of mind. Asami's pleasant smile faltered.

"Recovered and back to being the biggest pain in my life. He's disappeared again. I'm going to GPS tag his ass if he keeps this up. I didn't have the chance to get anything out about his notebook, other than his illness-induced repeats of that 'it's mine' crap."

Flashback from yesterday ****

"So, there are three meetings today. A shipment tonight. Then you're off for a week to Hong Kong, where I will join you in a couple of days for your party, then I return here for business. Oh, and here's a list of what Kou and Takato-san have purchased so far." Kirishima checked off his to-do list in full secretary mode.

"Interesting..." Asami murmured as he studied the items they had so far purchased or reserved.

"I thought so too, sir. I have them scheduled for an informal meeting the day after you return to discuss the arrangements in more detail. Akihito's family has RSVP for a small tea ceremony and dinner to celebrate your engagement that Friday.

Last item: the fashion house'Abyss' has both your and Akihito's wedding suits ready after they did the alterations after the final fittings; would you like me to collect them?" Kirishima asked, already typing on his notepad.

Asami just nodded. The wedding was approaching fast and was starting to feel more real. He was feeling both nervous and excited in his spare moments, and made a mental note to keep an eye on Akihito because if he was feeling like this then the kitten must be feeling it a hundred times worse. Akihito's first response used to be to run, but now Asami was more mindful of his PTSD triggers.

Izayahito walked straight into Sion by the front entrance. He'd heard the startled exclamation of one of the security guards at the door, but decided to ignore him. Izayahito walked through the grand foyer and towards the private elevator, dripping a trail of blood drops behind as he pressed the button for the top floor and swiped the security card to access it.

Kei was heading toward the elevator when it suddenly opened to reveal an Akihito covered in blood, his facial expression blank.

"Akihito! Are you alright? What happened?!" Kei was concerned with his appearance, and confused as to why the blond seemed so emotionless until it dawned on him that this wasn't actually Akihito but Izaya, in disguise.

"Oh. What are you doing dressed up like Akihito?" Izaya just growled.

"I am fine, if you care..." Izaya grated harshly as he roughly bumped shoulders with the frozen Kei on his way out of the elevator.

"Oh, and there are two bodies downstairs by the underground parking doors that need to be taken care of~" he tossed over his shoulder, leaving Kei bewildered and defensively annoyed. Izaya's bad mood slightly improved as he carried on towards his big brother's office.

Kei didn't hesitate to dash off straight away to see what Izaya was talking about, quickly sending an urgent text to Souh to meet him downstairs.

Pushing the large doors open, Izaya walked wordlessly over to Asami's couch and lay down. Asami was startled as he moved to assess the seemingly injured Akihito before realising it was just his younger brother sprawled on the very expensive couch.

"Izaya, clean yourself up, you're dripping somebody's blood on the furniture." Izaya just grumbled and curled into a ball, turning his back on Asami who was becoming annoyed with being disrespected.

Asami just pulled Izaya into a sitting position and began to strip him of the blood soaked clothes leaving the smaller male in a pair of his boy's boxers.

"Tell me what happened. Why you are dressed as Akihito and how did you get covered in blood?" Izaya just leaned his body tiredly against Asami.

"I got bored, sitting around the penthouse. I wanted to show you I have recovered, but then some mean men came out of nowhere and attacked me, so I left their corpses on your doorstep and came up to see you."

"You aren't a cat, Izaya, you can't just leave 'presents' laying around for me. People may start to talk." Izaya only pouted in response and slumped further into Asami's warmth.

Asami, sensing that Izaya was only a step away from complete slumber mode, quickly picked him up and placed him in front of the secret room door.

"Take a shower and put one of my spare shirts on, then you can come back in here and sleep."

Later, Kirishima came back in, looking distressed. He'd left Suoh to deal with the mess and the cleaning crew. "People are going to think Akihito is up here, either dying in your arms, or else he brutally murdered some people and is now hiding in here, and you're protecting him."

"That shower made me more sleepy~"they heard someone yawn behind them. Kei and Asami both turned their attention to Izaya, then they both busted out into snickers. Izaya was groggy and confused. "What you laughing at?"

Asami quickly walked over to playfully ruffle Izaya's hair before stating with a chuckle

"You are just so tiny, little brother, even shorter than Akihito..." Izaya looked down to find that the shirt's hem was grazing the top of his knees, and the sleeves hung down past his fingers, and the collar was so loose it was trying to slip off one shoulder.

"It's not my fault that you both are freakishly tall… Whenever I come by and you all are in here, I feel like I'm in a bamboo forest. I could still easily dispose of you both" he grumbled.

Both Kei and Asami watched, amused as Izaya went and curled up in a tiny ball on the couch, all extremities disappearing inside the shirt. Asami shook his head, then turned serious. "Can you tell me why two men attacked you? Obviously they wouldn't have been able to tell it was you so it could only mean that they were after Akihito" just the thought of someone harming his loved one got his blood boiling, his inner anger was about to snap it's leash when Izaya started to speak.

"Well, aren't you a bright l'il bunny~… I was leaving the penthouse, when I suddenly came to find out the guy who lives in # 1207 has a tiny little crush on the dear kitten. The idiot had the audacity to rub his dick against my backside in the elevator. He must of had a death wish, thinking he could get away with that, but as I turned around he suddenly kissed me hard on the mouth.

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm all down for some rough stuff, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with him... Is this something Akihito has to deal with everyday? Because it's seriously annoying, and he wasn't even that hot.

I was just trying to come to see you, dear brother, to show you how much I've recovered and to thank you for looking after me..." Asami brushed Izaya's thanks aside as he didn't see it as necessary, he would have looked after him anyway.

"...when two men suddenly pinned me down and tried to take advantage of my body in an alleyway near Sion. Again, is this an everyday thing that Akihito has to deal with? Anyway, it's not important, long story short, they are no longer alive, and you know the rest."

After hearing the shorter male's story, Kei and Asami's mood darkened while Izaya casually played with one of the shirts buttons as he added "As you already may have guessed, they were sent to kill Akihito.

They followed me from the penthouse, so in reality it was genius of me to dress up as the kitty cat... be thankful it was me instead of the actual kitten; could he even take on two men at once?" Asami was going to torture the guy from 1207 who dared to touch Akihito. Even if it was Izaya, there'd been no mercy: no one touched what is his.

End of Flashback ***

A few hours before leaving for Hong Kong...

Akihito was back at the penthouse, getting ready. He was busy doing a few last things for the university, trying not to think about how Asami still hadn't explained the Hong Kong trip. He was excited to see Tao, Fei and Yoh, but it felt weird going back with his fiancé.

Looking at his engagement ring and rubbing his cuff, it still amazed him that they both hadn't taken their cuffs off, making him feel all fuzzy inside. Luckily, Kou and Takato were out and about today, so he was going out for a quick catch up before he had to leave.

Akihito had been busy on his little fact-finding trip, and the sights were beautiful; some were breathtaking and some made one weep, and the history there would hopefully never be forgotten.

Akihito, after organising his university work, decided to do a little digging on that Norseman wannabe. He had felt a little weird as he hadn't investigated anything for a long time other than doing his own historical research on Crimea.

Akihito was a bit nervous at first, then the remembered feeling of excitement, the thrill of finding something of interest slowly came back to him. He was rewarded as some of his old friends and contacts were still in the business, and they were so surprised and thrilled to find that Akihito was alive and well.

Roughly, he pieced together that Keel was a diplomat's son and came from wealth, that he first met Asami at the university they went to, about his building Tempest from the ground up, even the rumoured European mafia ties.

Akihito had a friend that worked in Interpol, and he learned from her about the few warrants filed for Keel's arrest, but nothing had ever stuck.

Someone had always bailed him out, but no one seemed to be able to find out who. And the whole Merdici thing? Wow, they seemed scary, and he should know! Oh oh, now that was interesting... his friend who freelanced for 'The Guardian & The Times', one of England's more respected newspapers, had reported that even though Keel was reputed to be a dangerous man, he had very week alliances.

If the right card was pulled, his little empire could topple down onto the table.

The other piece of the puzzle was he'd been trying to get in the Merdici family for years now. By any means necessary, it seemed, to 'get in their good graces'. He had come close in the past, but they always said NO... rumour had it, that this time Keel had something that will make the Merdici change their mind. He was so very close to achieving his goal. If that happened, then he would become untouchable.

Akihito thought about it: he was interested in finding out more but he wasn't too sure what to do. 'I'll poke around, then tell Ryu when we get back. Hopefully he won't be to nag to much, or I'll kick his ass. (Ok, I've never kicked his ass. Yet. One day though… but, it's always fun to try and fail'). Akihito grinned even as he blushed.

As he was leaving the building, the neighbor from 1207 (a lovely man who recently lost his wife, but always said hello to him every morning) wasn't there anymore. He was gonna ask the concierge if he knew anything, but there was someone at the main desk making a huge fuss, so...

"Are you two listening to me? This is very interesting and important. Kou, Takato, listen:

Bronze animals' heads from Summer Palace go on display

Four precious bronze animal heads, originally situated at the water clock fountain at Haiyantang in the Summer Palace (Yuanmingyuan) in Beijing, will be on display at an exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum from tomorrow until January 25.

The four bronze animal heads exemplify the exquisite craftsmanship of Imperial China. The engraving from Haiyantang also exemplifies the distinguished architectural features of the unique fountain.

Kou and Takato managed to finally shut Akihito up about the 'Hai relics'. Gods, Akihito could yack; once he had an interest, that was all he could talk about 'til one wanted to slap him on the reset button and shut him the hell up. This caused a change of topic that they both regretted immediately.

"Kou, stop spending Asami's money. He gave you the card to use responsibly, not to buy stupid milk shakes and burgers with. Takato, you should have stopped him." Akihito was furious when he found out that Asami gave them a card. How dare they be so busy spending Asami's money when he wouldn't even use his own card to buy groceries.

"Look, he already told Asami he would be buying a Porsche with the card, and Asami didn't have a problem with it, so he's good."

"You are not buying a skateboard, much less a Porsche with Asami's money. NOW, give me that card back, or I will cancel the wedding and I'll blame you two" he threatened, pointing an accusing finger at both them before he reached over the table to snatch it out of his friend's hand.

When Kou held the sacred card out of his grasp, the blond huffed angrily and crossed his arms, preparing to get stubborn.

"Look, Asami knows we wouldn't do something stupid, and he's kinda cool you know, plus it's all gonna be half yours soon so a car would be a nice present for my birthday..." Kou had got up, came around the table, and lay his head on Akihito's shoulder, giving him the full puppy-dog eyes while fluttering his eyelashes and making a kissy face.

"That isn't my money. I've already made preparations so Asami can't give me his money. Now behave, or else when I go to Hong Kong I won't come back."

"Yeah, yeah, sorry Princess Akihito, we'll behave. Anyways, Kirishima sees the statements so he knows that what we spend, plus, if Asami was here, wouldn't he offer to buy us a meal and a few drinks?"

"Hmph, I guess so…"

"Relax, Aki-Chan, everything's cool, trust us... your party's gonna be epic... this has been so much fun planning, you have no idea!"

"And that's what's terrifying..."

Leaving Kou and Takato, Akihiko felt relaxed and happy. As he was walking to Sion HQ, he thought he felt like someone was following him. Ignoring the feeling as he saw the large metallic letters of the Sion sign in front of him, he ran up the steps to see if everything were ready so they could leave as planned.

Julius was in his hotel, enjoying a morning meeting with the local Councillor for Planning about the building design permissions. Near Asami's domain he just knew if the object of his desire saw how brilliant he was now, how cunning, how influential he had become over the years, then he'd get rid of that pet rat living with him... Patience, everything will work out. Just be careful, don't stray from the plan, and try not to let the visit yesterday from 'that man' throw his game off….

Flashback from yesterday ****

He was happily engaged, chatting with his guest over wine, that Julius never noticed the man with the unique cane walk into the hotel dinning room until the raven-haired man sat down at their table, looking directly at Julius.

"Julius, what did I say about Asami…"

"Not to worry, everything is being taken care of. He is going to look for Izaya for me, so everything is well in hand."

"So, why was his pet attacked, not even two hours ago? I warned you…"

"Oh, that. I gave that order before Asami started working for me."

"Working for you... Really. Well, Ryuichi's pet killed those men; wasn't that a surprise."

"(snort) So the whore can defend himself. Next time, he will be dead."

"Julius, stop baiting the dragon."

"Look, he won't know it was me. As he is working for me now, he thinks I will leave his slut alone... And as I recall, you work for me, so you... so, I would like you to get rid of that aggravating pest. Or I will keep Izaya and his notebook, and not give him to the Merdici."

""Fufu... Julius, you are starting to punch above your weight class... Do you truly believe Ryuichi is that stupid... fufufu... you should be very careful from now on, or unfriendly eyes will turn your way; and I am sure there is always room available at the Oubliette. Understand?"

"Listen: you will kill that piece of street trash for me, and I will kill Izaya after he gives me his notebook. Asami and Sion will belong to me."

The raven-haired man looked at him as if he had grown an extra head. When he stood up, still looking at Julius, his eyes turned sharp and brittle. "Bring us the notebook, that's the deal. As for either boy..." stubbing his cigarette out, he leaned on his cane, staring down Julius as his deep red eyes seemed to glow like embers, the gold specks sparking in their heat.

"Dragons will fiercely guard their treasure. And once awakened, a dragon can destroy everything in its fury. I, on the other hand, am not stupid enough to wake this particular beast... So, you have been warned." With that, he turned and left a frightened Julius in his wake

End of Flashback *****

A text notice buzzed on his phone; when he read the message he couldn't contain his rising anger.

'Sir, we followed Takaba; however, he was heading towards Sion. I believe I overheard two guards talking about Asami and him leaving for China this afternoon.'

The anger quickly turned to rage. He threw his teacup across the dinning hall, where everyone stopped in shock at the crash and stared at the businessman. Struggling to compose himself, he stood and left the Council member behind without another word.

Asami had put Akihito on the cabin bed, after Suoh had helped calm him before they got onto the plane. His kitten had been very excited about going to see Feilong, Yoh and Tao in Hong Hong. There had been some chatter about a museum exhibit that Akihito was eager to investigate as soon as they could.

Asami had been half listening to Akihito, hoping to actually relax during their stay. He wanted to enjoy being with his lover for a few days before going to the Macao casino with Feilong to confront Mikhail. Feilong had organised an informal costume party comprising of both of their business partners and underworld allies; it was to announce Sion's and Baishe's merging of business and family interests, hopefully including Mikhail's partnership with them, and let all the important people know about he and Akihito's engagement. Akihito's official change to 'wife status' would be announced the day after their wedding.

It wasn't 'til the limo got closer to the airport that Akihito got quiet, which should have been his first warning, the second being the blond had started to rub his hands over his forearms. But it wasn't until he stood on the tarmac, facing the plane that he began to hyperventilate. He couldn't say anything, he just had tears running down his face as one hand clutched at the shirt covering his chest. Asami wasn't sure at first what was happening, all he could see was panic on his face and a deep pain in his boy's eyes that he never wanted to see there again.

Akihito was trying to follow Asami's calm instructions to slow down his breathing, but he kept flipping between sobbing uncontrollably, then being unable to catch his breath.

It ended a moment later when Suoh came up behind Akihito and cupped a large hand over his mouth and nose while settling his other paw over the blond's diaphragm. Akihito stared at Asami with surprise as Suoh's action started to have the same effect as breathing in and out of a paper bag.

He blinked a few times as his breathing slowly went back to normal, and he tapped the big hand over his face. Once it was removed, he made the mistake of taking a deep breath through his nose and felt light-headed and woozy. He would have collapsed onto Asami's chest if it weren't for the one strong arm still supporting him.

Asami looked up at Souh and sighed quietly. "Thank you, Kazumi. Please help him onto the plane." Asami took the blond's hand and held it a moment longer before squeezing it as he handed him over to his friend's care. Walking in front of the pair, he went up the steps first then turned in case Suoh needed help in handling the tired boy. As they stepped into the cabin, Asami took hold of Akihito.

"Sir, there seems to be a slight problem, there's been a delay in take off."

Asami's eyes narrowed at the news as he cradled the tired boy against him. "Explain."

"According to airport security, a young male named Takaba Akihito fitting his general description boarded a flight to Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, roughly four hours ago. It's a nearly nine hour flight, sir, one way."

Souh advised him there would be a simple security check on this Takaba Akihito's passport and credentials. As he threaded his fingers through Akihito's pale locks, nodding his understanding was all he could do. Souh bowed and left to see what he could do to hurry things up. By the time he left the plane he was on the phone to Kirishima to see if he could work some of his special magic.

Asami was pissed. He knew damn well who the fucking imposter was, and when the little shit showed up again he'd strangle him, AFTER he got the info on how he knew Keel.

Izaya was pouting childishly in first class as the plane headed towards Krasnoyarsk, the third largest city in Siberia. Krasnoyarsk was an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which, after a further four hour train ride, would get him to a place called Koma.

Flashback********

While Izaya was scanning through Akihito's photos over his shoulder, he took notice that there was a man in the background in nearly all photos. In the pictures, he wore a suit, kept his back to the camera and had a cane. The younger Asami instantly knew who it was. Looking out the window, he saw the same man sitting on a bench down the way, feeding birds. Izaya's eyes narrowed. He went back to Akihito, who was still engrossed with sorting through his photos. "I need to take care of something real quick, Kitten~" With that, Izaya walked out without waiting for a response and quickly sat down next to the man. Before he could open his mouth the older male spoke.

"Izaya, you disobeyed me. You were meant to be in hiding, but I find you playing dress up and getting into fights. I send you over here to give your older brother information and to get you some extra protection. Have you got anything to say for yourself, young man?" Izaya stayed silent and began to fiddle with the end of his sleeve, not daring to look the man in the eyes. "Well. I want you to go to Russia and retrieve something for me, and you must return here with the item within 72 hours, is that understood?"

Izaya kept his gaze down, still refusing to open his mouth. "Izaya, don't make me angry with you... If you complete this task to my standard and without distraction, I will buy you something on the way back here."

Izaya's ears perked up as he looked at the older male with big innocent eyes and asked with a sweet voice "Can I get strawberry licorice laces and some of your special ice cream hot chocolate sauce?"

The male just nodded with a indulgent smile. "Of course. But only if you complete the task I just gave you successfully."

End of Flashback*******

The residual fatigue was enough to knock Akihito out for roughly an hour Asami calculated, but then there had been a delay in their take off. 'How can Izaya cause this much trouble? Now why was he heading off to Siberia all of a sudden?' he frowned, growling at the thought of his brother dressing up as Izayahito again.

When he felt a shift on the bed, Asami mind went straight to Akihito. Izaya could look after himself, what was concerning Asami right now was he didn't know how Akihito was going react to being on the plane, heading back to Hong Kong. Fuck, he didn't know what caused the anxiety attack; one minute he seemed happy, the next he was in a full blown panic.

He had spoken to the pilots, then left Suoh to deal with everything else. He wanted to be with Akihito as soon as he woke up, hopefully he wasn't too pissed off with his chief of security. Even he was surprised with Suoh's quick action.

Akihito woke up feeling disorientated. He remembered the limo drive then… oh, wait, it was coming back to him. He'd had a major panic attack. Akihito was blinking hard when he felt a warm, soothing hand on the side of his face. Looking up he saw two golden eyes starting at him with concern, love and something else.

"Where are we?"

Asami hesitated before answering. "We just took off from Haneda International" as his hand started running through Akihito's hair.

"Oh" was all he could say. He didn't want to put into words what had happened at the airport. Feeling embarrassed, he moved to hide his face against Asami's chest.

"Care to explain what happened?" Asami didn't mean for it to come out as harsh as it did. Akihito silently shook his head 'no', as even he didn't know why it had happened, almost feeling like crying again.

Asami moved so he could see Akihito's face, gently wiping the tears that had fallen. "Don't worry Akihito, it's passed; you are okay now." Asami's voice was smooth, silky, low and husky, which only meant one thing to the blond's brain. And libido.

Asami's one hand flowed over Akihito's arm as the other moved his boy's head so he could kiss him, which Akihito responded to with gusto. Asami moved so he could lean his body on top of Akihito so their groins got some friction against each other.

Breathy moans and gasps sounded before another rough kiss. The plane shook due to turbulence, but neither men noticed or cared, too far gone for something trivial like that. Akihito shifted to move his head aside which gave Asami more access to kiss and lick down his neck, his collarbone, and rain open-mouthed kisses down his chest. Stopping at Akihito's nipples, he gave them ample attention and earned a groan from the blond boy as he arched into that nimble tongue.

"Ryuichi..." he breathed.

"What do you want?" Asami as always asked, his head looking up from Akihito's chest momentarily before carrying on his journey downward. Asami could see his kitten's eyes, dark and cloudy with lust.

Akihito, still trying to shake the effects of the attack off while he struggled to keep the sensations Asami was causing to course through him at bay as his powerful lover busied himself with marking and biting and kissing the inside of his thigh. At a particularly loud moan, Asami dragged himself away and looked down at the younger man beneath him. Akihito's face was flushed with arousal and his lips were kiss-swollen and freshly moistened, eyes half lidded and unfocused.

Akihito was able to get his unsteady arms around Asami's muscular neck as he lowered himself closer, inch by inch, to that kissable mouth hanging open, his cheek flushed with a dusting of pink and those brilliant blue eyes that could ensnare Asami whenever he looked at him, those brilliant blue eyes were now eyes dazed with desire. He was breathtaking; for a moment Asami stopped and took it all in. He was used to having the best of everything, but his Akihito was superlative.

Asami thought he looked his most beautiful and alluring as he was now. As he again lowered himself onto Akihito, the boy started rubbing his own restrained hard on against him. Akihito's body was humming with pleasure, the sparks continuously shooting up his spine. Not able to stand being trapped by his lover's body any longer, he used a sudden surge of desperate energy to partially shift and roll the surprised seme off of him as he straddled that ripped body and caught his breath.

Akihito braced his hands on Asami's torso for support, feeling those hard muscles of Asami's abdomen flex under his finger tips whenever he moved. The blond leaned forward to kiss Asami hard. He needed to get these cock-blocking clothes out of the way. NOW.

Panting as he bent over to concentrate on releasing Ryu's shirt from his pants, his fingers started to quiver at the way his lover's hands were running lightly over his ribs and up his back.

He wanted this shirt open at least before he couldn't even manage to unzip those pants. That resolution lasted a whole two buttons before Ryuichi took the shirt front away from him and tore it open, the last three buttons flying off to meet their lost brethren from times before.

Pushing his kitten's paws away, he easily lifted his hips up, with Akihito on top of him for the ride, to undo the button and zipper and slide his pants and boxer briefs down in one go to mid thigh. Before he could even think of his own clothes, Asami had his shirt roughly pulled off over his head as his other arm snaked around his wildcat's waist, pulling him down and on an angle so he could rid them both of his interfering bottoms.

At this angle, Akihito's dopamine-addled brain registered the bedside table drawer was just below him, and he decided to be proactive while the bigger man was mauling his pants, and slid open the drawer to reach for the lube.

His searching fingers did indeed find the lube, but they came across something else, too. Pulling out the bottle and putting it on the table top for the moment, he went back in search of the hard plastic container he'd felt.

Finding it again, he pulled in out to see what it was, and found a plug, one of the earliest toys he and Asami had used on the plane during a "pleasure cruise", a few days stolen away together as a holiday. Knowing his lover's penchant for cleanliness and hygiene, the toy was ready and waiting for playtime.

Feeling his Ryuichi getting ready to pull him back up, he resisted for a moment until he felt Ryu hesitate. He grabbed the bottle of lube, poured a generous amount over his fingers and the recently released plug, and sat up, partially turned away from his questioning lover.

Using the flat of his palm, he slid his hand over his smooth rounded ass cheek readily presented to Asami's eyes. Rubbing it slowly around until he heard a quiet growl, he then dipped one slicked finger into his divide and slid it around the rim of his hole, softly touching and caressing the tight entrance until it relaxed somewhat, and he slowly pushed a finger inside.

He could feel he was still rather loose from last night's "catching up" from his time away on his trip, so he pulled back and added a second finger, pushing them in, twisting them around, scissoring them apart. He glanced over at Ryuichi's face, and saw him completely focused in on watching what he was doing to himself, hardly breathing.

Smirking, his slipped both of his fingers out, and used them to hold his cheeks apart as his other hand brought the toy out of hiding, behind Ryu's thigh.

Asami sucked in air when he caught sight of the toy as it started to tickle and rub against the ring of muscles as Akihito teased himself with it.

He tossed his head back as he was about to push it in when a large hand fastened onto his far shoulder and another hand encompassed his hand holding the plug.

It slowly but firmly pushed up into Akihito, waiting momentarily at some resistance, then pushed upwards into him again.

Once it was inside, the other hand twisted it, then twisted it back, and slowly started to pull it out. As the thickest part of the toy was about to pull out of the muscular entrance, the hand went slack, and it got sucked in again.

By controlling the boy's hand, he was controlling how Akihito was fucking himself.

Finally tiring of watching and not participating, Ryuichi took the plug out of his boy's hand and put it aside. Then picking his boy up to face him head on, he seated the leaking head of his cock tight against Akihito's entrance.

The blond squirmed on it, mewling, and Asami relaxed his hold, letting his kitten slowly twist and move and impale himself. Once he was fully seated on the rigid cock, Akihito moaned as he started a slow, steady pace of lifting his hips up and down with his thighs, riding Ryu's long hard shaft.

Asami groaned as he watched his kitten move slightly back so he could use Ryu's thighs for balance. Asami could see his cock going in and out of Akihito as he started to ride him in earnest, gradually picking up speed. Asami nearly came from just watching him, desperately trying to get himself back under control.

Asami knew that his little sex kitten would one day make him cum before he did, but the older man gritted his teeth, bound and determined that today wouldn't be that day until he heard "Ah! Mmm…ah…ah…hah!", then he saw Akihito bitting his lip, trying to hold back his voice. Tears of pleasure were rolling down his cheeks, sweat beading slowly down his long neck as he threw his head back in complete and utter rapture. 'FuckIng hell, Kitten!' How could he be so seductive and so innocent at the same time.

"Akihito," Asami whispered as he partially sat up and kissed his chest. He took hold of the boy's waist, feeling his muscles coil as he pistoned harder up and down. Asami thrust up to match Akihito's rhythm, then gripped his head of wild hair, pulling it down, and smashing their lips together.

"Mmmm, mmmn… ngh-!" Akihito's voice was raw, lust filled, needy. Asami continued on, leaning forward to leave a mark on his boy's neck, opposite to where the Baishe dragon was tattooed. Once he bit down, his blond thrashed around and cried out.

Asami linked his fingers with his boy's, kissed Akihito's knuckles, then he caught hold of the other hand, linking those fingers together as well. He then pushed them around and into the small of Akihito's back, making him arch his spine further. He partially sat up, kissing and biting and twisting those defenceless nipples with his teeth. "Mmmm, mmmn… ngh! Hah… Ryuichi!"

Akihito gasped loudly, as he ground onto Asami lap, "I… I'm going to-!" His little wildcat managed to raise up one last time just as turbulence again rocked the plane, making him come down hard as Asami thrust up deeper into him.

Akihito screamed as he came. Asami had hit that bundle of nerve ending, causing Akihito's sight to explode into stars as he screamed again in ecstasy, his back arching out as far as it could.

As blackness started to gather 'round the edges of his sight, Akihito heard Asami's low guttural groan of "Akihito!" before he slipped away.

"So I take it the original itinerary for this five hour flight was hot plane sex for, mmm… two hours. Then, what: an hour break to eat? But I'm hungry, so let's make that a hour and a half; then what, more sex before we land?" Asami glanced at his Breitling SuperOcean Heritage watch.

"Less than three hours to go now... l don't think so Ryu..i..chi" his boy teased as the dark haired man pulled a fresh shirt on, before fetching his tie and cuff links.

Akihito was thinking about adding the comment "getting tired in your old age?" as by his calculations they would be landing right on time. Instead, an evil plan formed in his mind: after eating, there wouldn't be time to have a (for them) regular round of sex.

Convinced he was safe, Akihito went off looking for food. Unfortunately, the best laid plans of Akihito and men were all for naught as someone forgot to mention the hour long delay in leaving Japan while he slumbered...

Asami sat on the couch in the plane's lounge, a drink in his hand, when Akihito slipped up behind him and wrapped his arms around Asami's shoulders. Akihito placed a soft kiss on his cheek as Asami rubbed his boy's crossed arms.

"I've been learning French recently" he murmured as warm air breathed into Asami's ear. Akihito's voice, still husky from screaming in pleasure earlier, was such a turn on.

"Oh? Like what..." Akihito grinned an evil grin as he launched his diabolical plot.

"Salut. Mon nom est Akihito, et mon anniversaire est le 5 Mai. J'aime la photographie. Puis-je vous poser question?" Hi. My name is Akihito, and my birthday is May 5. I like photography. May I ask you a question?

Asami nodded his assent as he lifted his glass and took a sip of the amber liquid.

"Voulez-vous coucher avec moi?" Would you like to sleep with me?

Needless to say, the drink went down the wrong way.

As Akihito turned to leave, smirking, his hand lingered on the back of the couch a bit too long. Asami grabbed his wrist and pulled Akihito over the back of the couch.

The blond found himself sprawled on the couch cushions, right leg still draped over the back of the couch, the rest of him lying across Asami's lap, staring up into those smouldering eyes.

"Oh non vous ne faits pas." Asami said, voice deep and rumbling in his chest.

"Mais oui, je vais vous faire... mon cher. Chaton."

But of course, I will have you… my dear. Kitten.

Then he pulled his boy up close for a passionate kiss.

Breathlessly, the blond gripped those strong arms holding him, and whispered:

"Mon cher, utiliser votre langue sur moi, longue et plus profond."

My love, use your tongue on me, long and very deep.

"Cher, laissez-moi vous montrer ce que je peux faire."

Dear, let me show you what I can do.

Lifting Akihito, he got up off the couch and carried him back into the bedroom.

Twenty four hours before Asami and Akihito arrive in Hong Kong:

Feilong was moving before he was fully awake: someone was in his bedroom, in the dead of night. Not Yoh or Tao, or even the night guard posted outside his hallway door.

Feilong's gun was trained on the tall figure frozen mid stride by the foot of his bed, safety off.

As his eyes adjusted to the dark he could see the figure relax somewhat, then calmly continue to the chair by the window. Sitting down, he leaned his walking cane against the arm of the chair, removed a cigarette holder and lighter from an inner pocket for his suit jacket, selected a cigarette and lit up, the smouldering end flaring brightly in the dark room.

He stayed ready, since he knew that just because the intruder was sitting quietly, behaving himself, it didn't mean he wasn't a threat. To himself, or his family, the youngest of whom was sleeping just down the hall. "What are you doing here" he asked, his voice low and deadly.

"If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead now, Lui Feilong" the intruder stated flatly. "What I would like is a quiet word with you, if you don't mind. In private." The baritone voice rumbled softly through the darkness as the stranger stood up, gestured towards the door, and calmly walked out of the bedroom into the adjacent office.

Feilong, still hesitant of the man, followed him out after pulling on a robe. This man reminded him of someone, especially the way that voice sounded in the shadows.

And more so when he found his"visitor" fixing himself a drink at the bar, then turning towards Feilong, enquiring if he would like one too. That's the type of move Asami or himself would use.

"Well, what would you like to talk about, Mr...?" Feilong stood side on to the man with his arm relaxed, but the gun still at the ready.

The man sat down near the window across from Feilong's preferred chair and stared down unseeingly at the low table between them, a small furrow between his brows appeared then disappeared as soon as he elegantly crossed his legs, then looked at Feilong and swept his hand towards the opposite chair.

"Please, have a seat. I have some information for you; also, I would like to ask a few questions of you, if I may, to help me clarify some points of my own." The man stubbed out his cigarette as the head of the Baishe took his seat. "Also, do not feel it necessary to keep the gun at hand because of me" his visitor assured, a small smile on his face.

Feilong shrugged lightly as he settled back in the chair. "Very well, I am listening to you", he said, laying the gun down in his lap, still pointed towards his visitor.

"Liu-san, I have been made aware there has been a 'hit' put out a young man who is connected with you" he stopped, pausing for a moment, "as well as Asami Ryuichi. I believe his name is Takaba Akihito." Feilong's eyes widened for a moment before nodding for the man to continue.

"I understand your hesitation about my intentions, I myself am unsure at this time what they are; however, as I said, a hit has been ordered on Takaba-Sensei and even I don't know if Ryuichi can protect him if he chooses to."

Feilong heard the cold words. The man seemed to know Asami, but why did he dismiss Akihito like a plaything Asami wouldn't care about losing…?

"What is your name, before we continue?"

"Fufufu... my name." The man placed a second cigarette in his lips. As he lit up again, Feilong got a look at his face. The visitor was an older gentleman, his short hair was slicked back, a few strands falling across his forehead, the color was dark with a strip of white through it. His face had a few lines around his eyes, making him look like a man in his mid fifties, handsome, deep red eyes with flex of gold like cherry amber watched Feilong closely.

"Just call me Tadashi-sama, fufu" he chuckled, inhaling some nicotine. "Are you interested in the information or would you like me to leave, Liu-san?"

"I am listening, Tadashi Ryūjin -Sama (忠 正) loyal, true (龍神 dragon god)" he allowed, a small flicker of a smile at the corner of his lips as Feilong realised what the name meant. A matching smile appeared on the man's lips as he inhaled his cigarette again.

"You were at dinner when Takaba attacked Mr. Julius Keel, which has lead to Julius taking rather hasty action by placing the hit on Takaba-Sensei" he said as he breathed out smoke, leaning back in the chair, staring straight at Feilong.

"You seem well informed about this situation" Feilong observed as his fingers caressed the grip of his handgun.

"Yes, well, that's where it gets complicated. Mr. Keel, even though he is someone I personally wouldn't have dealings with if I could avoid it, seems to think of himself as unassailable, which for him is dangerous, and he is trying to become something he can never achieve." Feilong's guts tensed involuntarily as he watched his visitor's fingers curl around the cigarette. "I'm here to ask for two favours."

"Only two?" Feilong asked, amused with the request in this situation.

"One: you must not tell anyone you have met me; if you do, I will have take certain actions. Two: I need everything you know about your little brother's actives in detail, even the smallest bit of information, like his favourite colour."

Black eyes burned with protective possessiveness. Feilong tightened his grip on the gun and asked "Why?"

"That is my business; will you comply?" Tadashi pulled a card from a gold and onyx business card holder he'd removed from his waistcoat pocket, handing it over to Feilong who took it tentatively. It read "Mr. Ren Drake, CEO BAE Systems plc."

"Again, why? You seem very capable of finding this information without my help." Feilong waved his hand with the card in it to encompass the suite. "You seem to have gained entrance into my private quarters without incident."

The man just nodded. "True, your security is quite good, it's just that I'm better" he said with a trace of a smirk. The man's face then looked a little pensive until he calmly spoke again as if commenting that the weather was nice. "The problem is, Mr. Keel approached me personally about killing Takaba Sensei."

T.B.C...

Izaya's Shenanigans...

Izaya: Do you think toothbrushes have feelings?

Asami: Izaya, it's 3 o'clock in the morning...

Izaya: ...

Izaya: But like, wouldn't you be salty if someone shoved you in their mouth everyday?

A sleepy voice from a lump on the other side of the bed: He hasn't complained so far...

Asami: *screams into pillow*

Izaya: Punch me in the face.

Souh: Punch you?

Izaya: Yes. Punch me, in the face. Didn't you hear me?

Souh: I always hear"punch me in the face" whenever you're speaking, but it's usually just sub-text.

Notes:

Research show me this if it's wrong please let me know

Tadashi (忠 正) loyal, true

Ryujin. (龍神 ) dragon god, Longshein in Chinese as 'Long' means dragon.


	26. 25 sweet for my sweet

Chapter 26: Valentine's day surprise *bonus*

Chapter by Sleepy_robin

Summary:

Sweets for my sweet.

**bonus chapter**

Notes:

So thanks to my daughter and lainie who crafted this mini gem.

Valentine's day surprise.

Chapter 26: Sweets for my sweet

Asami decided to treat his fiancé to a special meal at a highly recommended new restaurant downtown for Valentine's Day. He did some research himself beforehand as he only wanted the best for Akihito, and the results were nothing but excellent reviews. Akihito wasn't that happy with the choice as it seemed such an extravagant place and didn't want Asami to waste so much money on him, but he thought it would be a nice treat for having to deal with all the problems that came with being with someone like him.

When they arrived, they both couldn't help but be impressed with the interior. Asami began to understand why it got such high reviews: it was so elegant looking, but not in an intimidating way to people who may not be used to this type of lifestyle. It was like the perfect restaurant.

A tall slim gentleman dressed in proper uniform stalked over to the males. "May we help you sirs? Do you have a reservation?" Asami quickly give his name, and just as quickly he was guided by the maître d' to their table while dragging along his kitten who seemed to be entranced with the decor and artwork. Sitting down, Asami and Akihito were welcomed and bid to make themselves comfortable as their waiter was introduced.

After a while deciding on what each wanted to try, Asami motioned over their waiter and made their order. Asami and Akihito talked about this and that to fill the time while waiting for their food they eagerly await. Not too long after, they were presented with stunningly plated food. They must have a highly trained cordon bleu chef in the kitchen. But when Akihito couldn't help but close his eyes and moan in utter rapture once his taste buds got hold of the artistically prepared food, Asami could only feel smug at his kitten's reaction, happy that he was enjoying himself.

However, Asami started to notice that other people seemed to be rather unhappy with their orders. Maybe something went wrong with the order deliveries, but Akihito's and his food seemed to have no problems.

Asami again motioned over the waiter, telling him quietly he'd like to speak to the owner. He wanted to speak with him and compliment him on running such an exquisite restaurant. The waiter nodded and departed, and shortly returned followed by someone shorter and dressed smartly in a suit that he himself would wear.

Asami couldn't help but grimace in distaste once he realised he knew this 'owner' far more than he wanted to right now. Asami quickly got up to meet him before he reached the table. The 'owner' couldn't help but let his amusement show.

"Fufufu~ how is your meal, my dear brother?" Akihito seemed to be oblivious to what was going on, too enchanted with his food.

Before Asami had a chance to speak, he was cut off. "What is this I hear about you wanting to pay me a complement? I always wanted to get a complement from you~ Can I record you saying it~?"

"Izaya. Shut up for a moment, please." Izaya shut his mouth and raised an eyebrow in interest, his face going void of emotion, making it difficult for Asami to know what is going through his crazy smart brain. "I will admit that the meals served were divine, but I couldn't help but notice the expressions of people around us. What did you do to their food?"

Izaya only smiled enigmatically and chuckled as he hummed "Wouldn't you like to know~ "

Asami, having no patience to deal with his younger sibling right then, decided to pay the bill and dragged a protesting Akihito out of the restaurant, leaving Izaya to his "fun". Once back at the SUV, he smoothly directed the driver to the nearest pastry café and turned his kitten loose on the unsuspecting staff as he got a drink and sat at a table to message Kei, letting him deal with that particular PIHA (pain in his ass) as today was all about Akihito and himself.

After a while, the widely grinning blond came over to the table, juggling an armload of boxes as a staff member carried a plate with a chocolate éclair and an iced latte behind him. Sitting down across from his lover, he started teasing the larger man with little moans of ecstasy as he bit into the sweet dessert.

Asami gave him an arched smile as he sipped his espresso, letting him carry on for a while. Feeling bold, Akihito decided to up the teasing of his badass yakuza by lewdly licking the chocolate, pastry, powdered sugar, custard and cream debris from his lips.

Raising an eyebrow in amusement, Asami hid a grin behind his cup as he finished his drink and touched his sexy mouth with a napkin. Popping the last bite into his mouth, Aki grabbed his drink to slurp loudly on the straw.

Golden embers glittered at his boy, enjoying his game. Sassy blue eyes gave him a saucy wink as he took one last slurp and gave a satisfied "mmm".

Eyeing the pile of pastry boxes on the table, Asami asked congenially "Are you ready to go now, or shall the slaughter continue?"

Laughing, his boy gave him a cheeky grin and said "Why? Were you wanting something for yourself?"

"Oh yes, my cute little kitten. I was thinking of heading home and indulging in my favourite delicacy: some fresh blond, dipped in dark chocolate, filled with cream." Aki's whimper could be heard several tables over as the tall, dark mass of sex appeal got up and headed towards the door.

Jumping up, Akihito made a mad grab for the boxes, snatching up a handful, abandoning the rest for one of the guards to collect as he dashed out the door and stole a kiss on the fly from his lover standing by their ride. **The End **

Izaya's shenanigans ...

Asami: "You three, explain. Now!"

Souh: "It was Izaya!"

Kirishima: "It was Izaya!"

Izaya: "It was Izaya!"

Izaya: ...

Izaya: "Wait! what? Damn!"


	27. 26 Bonus bonus Tao

Restart

Chapter 27: Bonus bonus Valentine's Day chapter!

Chapter by Lainie (mislainieous) & Caitlin

Summary:

"Framily" is a term used to describe the idea that our best friends are the family we choose for ourselves. As the Asami and Lui families have gotten closer through marriage and business, the youngest boys of both households, Izaya and Tao, have gotten up to their own mischief along the way.

Notes:

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury... Wups, wrong notes. Ok, here we are: this is Sleepy_robin's daughter Kitkat's first posting. She usually channels Izaya for us, and together we thought we'd post this on Valentine's Day for her Mom. Hugs!

Chapter Text

Framily with Benefits

I slowly backed up against the wall, the man moving in closer and closer to me. With every step I took backward, he took one forward, like a rehearsed dance. I blushed darkly as I couldn't move any more, his hands trapping me in place against the far wall. Purposely I had avoided him for a while now, just to see if he'd react at all. I'd imagined this might have been more romantic, that he would search for me far and wide, and then he'd engulf me in his arms when he finally found me– but this wasn't any fairy tale. True, he did find me, but I also found out he was the information broker I was to meet with tomorrow for my first solo mission, and he had every single bit of info about me already. I blushed harder every time he would move his body closer, brushing some part of his on mine. My small hotel room was not allowing any chance of escape, even if I wanted to, and I could feel Izaya's aura overwhelming mine, trapping me in place. "W-w-what do you want, I-Izaya?" I stammered, causing him to look smug.

"Oh, how sweet; you DO still remember me." With his voice low and sultry, he was trying to lull me into a false sense of security. "I just wanted to see how the boy crushing on me was doing, that's all~ " his cool fingers stroked my cheek as he looked me deep in the eyes.. But how the hell did he know where I was staying? Aki didn't even know I was in Japan. And more importantly... how did he know I liked him?!

I closed my eyes as he continued to caressed my skin. Izaya tilted his head to the side a fraction as he hummed. "H-how did you know w-where I was staying?" I breathed, trying to inch to one side of him.

"It's my job as a broker to know everything. And I did a little extra research on you since you interest me so much... how are you able to love someone like me? I myself see love as something pathetic, as I'm not actually interested in anything" he laughed a little at the end.

I began to feel confused and scared, I didn't know what to do. "Then… g-go away" I said, placing my hands on his chest, ready to push him away. Except, he leaned more towards me, his lips next to my ear.

"But Tao~ you don't want the guy you love to go away, right? Wouldn't you rather have him wrap his arms around you, kiss you oh so passionately and tell you he loves you?" he teased. He held my chin in place with his long fingers, and looked into my eyes. I didn't know what to do... It felt like the first time I'd seen him. And here he was, pressing his lips onto mine, causing the weak feeling of passing out to wash over me. His arms went around my waist, pulling me closer to his rather thin but lithe body. I fluttered my eye lids shut, my arms going around his neck. I felt him smirk, as he pressed me back into the wall even harder this time, forcing the air out of my lungs. As the small gasp left my mouth, Izaya sneaked his tongue in, allowing himself access to ravage my mouth. I didn't know what to say, he had found me in the most unbelievable way, and then he came here to tease me, kiss me… I squeaked as I felt his cool hand run up inside my shirt. He laughed softly into the kiss, as I wrapped my legs around him, the male making himself at home, staying the night for the first time at my place.

Izaya put aside his drink, got up from his chair and stalked across his room towards me. "Well, as pleasant as all this catching up has been, I can't wait to see a pair of cuffs on you~ strip and get into position!" he ordered and I did want I was told, knowing from past experience that I did not want to anger him if I didn't want Izaya to get… creative. I took off my shirt, then my boxers and pants in one go. I lay face down on the bed as he walked over and rubbed my hair. "Good little obedient slut~ " Izaya purred as he walked over to a bag that I hadn't noticed before and proceed to pull out a black riding crop that had me trembling in anticipation. I lightly blushed as he walked back over and ran it over my ass cheek as he moved by. Clutching a handful of my hair, he held me still as he looked me over and grumbled that I'd already cleared the top of his head, so I could stop growing at any point now. Then he grabbed my wrists and handcuffed me to the bed post, positioning my ass in the air. "I want to gag you as well, is that okay~ ?" I nodded. He proceeded to put a ball gag in my mouth and began to massage my arse. "Since you have been such a good boy, I've decided I will go easy on you and allow you to feel more pleasure than pain" Izaya stated as he began to whip me. I jerked as I instantly grew hard at the control being taken away from me. I let out a few muffled moans as he continued to whip me lightly. He gradually started applying more force but still not enough to leave marks. I felt him whip the back of my thighs and start moving back up to my cheeks. My body couldn't stop tingling, my hard on starting to get really painful with need, but I knew I wasn't allowed to cum until he permitted me. After 30 more minutes of his ministrations I couldn't take it anymore. I shuddered and let out a small whimper as I felt his hand start to jerk me off slowly. Tears slid down my face but I knew I had to behave if I wanted to get my release.

"You are such a good slut~ " Izaya whispered in my ear as he took the gag out of my sore mouth. My jaw hurt but not as much as I thought it would. "Good boys get to have a reward~ now, moan for me." He ordered as he left me cuffed to the bed, jerking me off faster. I was already close to my limit, so I moaned loudly then cried out at the pleasure Izaya was giving me. I felt my release coming and I started bucking into his hand. He allowed me to keep bucking my hips as I soon came all over his hand. He licked his hand seductively, causing me to blush madly and complain about how dirty that was. Without another word, Izaya began to clean up and pack his things away. I watched as he walked over to the door, but before he left he looked at me over his shoulder. "You were really nice and obedient tonight. I can't wait to play with you again~." With a wink and a sexy smirk Izaya disappeared from sight.

Izaya and I walked up the stairs in the Hong Kong mansion after he crashed dinner, much to Yoh's amusement and Fei Long's mock chagrin. Being family, they were used to his unannounced comings and goings by now, sometimes not even realising he was in his suite in the family wing until he wandered out of his room at some point, yawning and rubbing his tousled head, wearing nothing but boxers and bunny slippers. "So~, you still seeing that Russian girl? Oxen? Oxnard?"

Grinning, I shook my head and looked down at him. "No, Oksana went home after her Uncle Mikhail found out she was spending more time studying biology under me and another guy on the staff than business under Yoh. Not quite the foreign student exchange he and Fei Long put together, but Asami won 10,000 Yen out of it in some bet. If you should "cum" across her in the future, tell her I said 'hey'." Both of us sniggered as I put my arm around his shoulder. We stopped in front of the door to my rooms. "You don't need any toys or anything?" I asked as he opened the door and pulled off his shirt.

"I don't always need toys to make someone scream in pleasure~ " he teased, winking at me as I blushed. "Now don't be nervous~, it's not like this is the first time I've tainted your body...~ " Izaya playfully stated as he pulled me into my suite and kissed me. He bit my bottom lip and I moaned as he slid his tongue into my mouth. I began to rub myself against him, making him smirk into the kiss. He pulled back and took my shirt off quickly, then I helped him take off my pants. After I was stripped down to my boxers, Izaya moved us into my bedroom, sat us on the bed then flipped us over so I was now straddling his hips. "I want so much for you to be my slave. You are so interesting and cute, and every part of you already belongs to me~ " Izaya said as he nipped at my collar bone.

"I-Izaya!" I moaned out as he spanked my ass.

"Uh-oh, try again~ " Izaya sang as he looked at me with lust filled eyes.

"M-Master..." I moaned as he started to massage my ass and kiss my neck.

"Good little slave~ " Izaya praised me as I started to rub my erection against him. He pulled my boxers down swiftly as he started to jerk me off. My back arched as I started to moan uncontrollably.

"Master! Please, slow down!" I groaned out as he quickened his pace.

"Hmm~ and why would you want that, my princess? I thought you liked feeling good~ " he cooed in amusement as he picked me up and sat me on top of his clothed erection. I felt the tightness of his jeans under my ass get bigger as he continued to stroke me. "What's my hand stroking?" Izaya asked in my ear as I moaned.

"M-my cock, Master" I breathed as he licked at the base of my neck.

"What was that?" he asks as he squeezed my dick harder.

"Y-your cock, Master. You own me..." I whimpered.

"Good boy~ " Izaya praised me while he stroked me faster, not easing his grip any. After a few more strokes I came all over his hand. He wiped it off as I sat back, panting. I felt like my dick was still twitching from the amazing release I just had.

Before Izaya walked out with his shit-eating smirk, I managed to ask "Are you going to be here for breakfast? You know we're always happy to see you, even if Fei and Yoh are happier when you leave…" Izaya just smiled mysteriously as he left the room without another word.


	28. 27 Hong Kong part 1

Restart:

Chapter 25: Home to Hong Kong part 1

Chapter by Sleepy_robin

Summary:

Asami and Akihito visit Feilong in Hong Kong...

Happy birthday Feilong...

Notes:

Happy Feilong's Birthday, everyone!

It's Lainie, Sleepy_Robin's beta and coconspirator. Sleepy and I were working on a chapter for Fei Day when she had a family emergency. She sent me her notes and ideas, and I pulled up my Big Girl pants, kicked off the training wheels, and started writing. So sorry if this isn't your regular cup of tea, but no refunds will be issued. Thanks for your understanding and support!

Chapter Text

Restart

Chapter:25 Hong Kong part1

Akihito headed into the front foyer of the mansion ahead of the group from Japan, just as Feilong stepped down from the grand staircase. The soft morning sunlight complimented his fine looks: dark lashes lined darker eyes, long loose blue-black hair flowed over his shoulders, framing a beguiling face.

At one time, if Asami wasn't his, Feilong would have been. But Akihito loved him as a brother, and Feilong returned those feelings with gratitude. For the young leader of the Baishe, without the blond bundle of energy to keep his focus away from his own family history, sometimes wishing it had been more like this when he was growing up could have been a bitter thing.

But Akihito always has the ability to make people see the world from a better perspective. He was tenacious, vibrant, and full of life. And when all else failed, he was downright scrappy.

Akihito grinned when he saw his big brother. "Feilong!" he burst out and stepped up to him quick to give him a huge hug, for he seemed to be in need of one, though he never really did smile unless he was off the clock and Tao, Yoh or himself was around. If Feilong smiled as he went about his "business", that was a whole different matter.

Neither of his older adopted brothers did smile, at least not very often, though between Yoh and Feilong he'd have to say Yoh was the least likely to show anything. He'd often teased Yoh that if he ever did laugh out loud, his face might crack. But as always, Akihito just wanted to see them all healthy and happy.

Gazing down at his little brother, Feilong arched a brow in amusement before wrapping his arms around the boy's shoulders. The embrace lasted a bit, until remembering who was with them made Feilong draw back, formally greeting his little brother. "Good morning, Akihito, welcome home.

Did you have a good flight? How was the drive from the airport?" That started a barrage of anecdotes, counterclaims and teasing between Akihito and Tao that ended with Yoh observing that Akihito would make an exceptional tour guide with how he pointed out locations of interest on their travel into the foothills overlooking Hong Kong while Tao, enjoying his freedom after a week in solitary confinement (a.k.a. being grounded in his room after classes without any books, visitors or electronic media) looked like a puppy dog sticking it's head out a window of the limo, tongue hanging, virtual tail wagging.

Finally turning his attention to his remaining guest and his entourage, Feilong made a graceful bow and spoke the words he'd never thought to be speaking out loud: "Asami Ryuichi-Sama, Suoh Kazumi-San, members of Sion, welcome to Hong Kong, and to my private home. As head of my family and leader of the Baishe I bid you welcome: relax and makes yourselves at home. If there is anything you need or desire, Yoh, Akihito or I will be honored to coordinate with you or provide it for you."

Wishing to respond in kind with equal formality and graciousness to the unprecedented trust shown, along with the attempt to smooth over the bad blood of their past, (not to mention he wasn't about to be outdone by Liu Feilong, ever), Asami was about to respond in kind when a certain mouthy blond piped up with "And if any of you need an errand run, I volunteer Tao to be your gopher: whatever you need, he'll go for this, or go for that." And with that, amid the eye rolls, mild groans, chuckles and one offended squawk, the ice was broken, and a bond between former enemies began to form.

A little while later, after Baishe personal liaisons had been introduced, suites in the same wing were assigned and the group separated to set up, settle in and relax before lunch. Aki and Asami were stretched out together on a lounge on their balcony, watching the early afternoon raindrops drip off the surrounding foliage. Asami assessed the hidden message behind their location, an outside balcony facing the hillside. Easy escape route for those within, or easy access for a raiding party of hostiles from without.

Not lightly provided for business partners, or acquaintances of family members. Maybe just for close personal friends, visiting. Or family.

Asami had removed his outer armor, taking off his jacket, vest and tie once their hallway door had closed, and rolling up his sleeves, and they had automatically migrated to the open French doors leading outside. Snuggling closer, the blond sighed and stirred, shifting his position slightly as he lay between his lover's legs.

"Mmm, this is nice. I'd sometimes daydream about this while I was staying here."

Running his fingers through blond hair, Asami smiled. "Even when we were separated, you'd dream about me?"

"Daydream, baka. I'd daydream about US."

Lightly scratching his boy's head, Asami mussed his hair up. "I'd dream about you too. I missed you a lot, those years apart. I missed us."

His face somewhat troubled, Akihito thought for a moment, then quietly asked "What about the first time I was in Hong Kong?"

Asami stilled, then resumed running his fingers through the unruly hair again. He pursed his lips, frowning slightly, then relaxed, knowing this was going to come up at some point. He'd actually been preparing for a more angsty conversation, possibly after a stress-induced session of acting-out. All things considered, he'd take what he could get.

"I didn't admit to myself that I loved you yet, but I thought of you, all the time. Worried about you, rode Yoh hard for information about how you were, ready to come over here and rain hellfire all over this island to get both of you out, if possible; just you, if not. I don't usually take a bullet or two for just anyone, Kitten, no matter how delicious they are."

"Really. So how does Kirishima taste, then? Or Suoh?"

"Kei's stringy. And Kazumi's tough, like an old boot."

Akihito grinned, and lazily swatted Asami's chest. "I'm telling. What about how you and Feilong… I mean, after everything, how are you, with him?"

"I'm whatever you need me to be, love. One of the benefits of having flexible morals."

"Flexible, maybe. Morals, uhhhh…"

Asami moved his hand down to poke a particularly ticklish patch of ribs. A flinch, a yell and flailing limbs later, things settled down again, and their talk resumed. "What are you worried about, Kitten."

A big sigh, then: "I'm worried about unresolved issues between you two, meaning especially me, causing everything you guys are trying to do to turn to dust, an underworld war between two or three fucking countries, Tao and Yoh being victims, Glasses and the Wall being collateral damage, whether they survived you or not… And I don't even want to think about that…., me; surviving you… Because Ryu, I wouldn't."

Strong hands reached down and pulled him up until his head was tucked up under Asami's chin, then roamed caressingly over the blond's body. Kissing the unruly head of hair, Asami murmured quietly, telling his boy not to worry, that he and Feilong had been talking for a while now, some of those talks had involved harsh words, yes, but still, they kept talking. He even told Akihito about Feilong's disclosure regarding what happened after the boy left one of his sessions where he had told the therapist what Feilong had done and said to him during his captivity. When a pair of blue eyes looked at him questioningly, he chuckled. "Apparently, you were avenged. Seemed like she must have played quite a bit of tennis, because she had a mean backhand."

Akihito stared, then snickered, thinking of petite little Dr. Robin standing on a chair, bitch slapping his deadly assassin. Deciding it was now or never to put his complete trust in his future husband, the blond took a breath and spoke about his recent anxiety attack. He talked about his excitement of coming back to what had become his second home, and showing his lover all the things he loved about Hong Kong, when on the drive to the airport, an image had flashed in his mind: the first time he went to Hong Kong, locked inside a shipping container: thirsty, scared, hungry, wondering if Asami was alive, the smell of his own piss in the confined space, being alone in the dark.

The idea left him just as quickly, but it had shook him. Later, as they had pulled up in the limo to where the plane was waiting, he started thinking about what exactly he wanted to show Asami, and it was as if a projectionist had flicked a switch and shone pictures against the insides of his eyes, showing him the Baishe warehouse from the viewpoint of inside the cage, then an image of his leg chain and the single cot in the tiny room where he was kept in during the day.

And the showers where Yoh helped him walk to and waited in, watching him while he washed away whatever Feilong had done to him during the night. And that's when everything had come crashing in on him. Even talking about it caused trembling, and Asami held him tighter with one arm (trapping his arms so he couldn't start scratching himself) while stroking his head and back with the other.

The older man waited until his younger lover had finished his story, calming him, being there if he needed him. When his boy had been still for a while, Asami quietly asked "Does Feilong also have those kinds of memories pop up when he's there? Or Yoh?"

Startled, Aki looked up at him and blinked. "I don't know, Ryuichi. I've never even thought to ask them. I'd assume that if they had any kind of triggers at either place, it would be about things they had seen or done to people there that needed to be dealt with…"

"Like you? To get to me?"

"…"

"Why don't you ask them sometime. It may help you, it might help them…"

They lay there quietly together a little while longer when the blond asked in a curious voice "Um, Asami, exactly WHEN did you and Fei start talking?"

That infuriating smirk crept up on the older man's face as he sweetly kissed his boy's head, and said "After the onsen…"

"Bastards."

Feilong didn't feel comfortable in his own home. It wasn't like he was on edge, feeling the twinge of an unknown threat, or even like he and Asami were two bulls in the same paddock, eyeing each other up before

a fight. Yes, some of it had to do with the baggage of Akihito, and Asami, and him, and the last time they were in Hong Kong together. And Tokyo. But if Aki could forgive him and love him, he knew the very least he could do was try to forgive himself, too. And he did, every time another piece of the old Feilong got buried.

Yoh and Tao deserved better than who he was, and the best way he could think of doing that was to not be anything like the man his so-called brother Yanzhui thought he had been. If he was honest, between what he himself had suspected, what Aki had told him about Asami's side of their story all those years ago and what Asami had told him himself, it would seem that Asami had acted more like an older family member to him than anyone else ever had. Even to keeping their lines of communication open when his Baishe and Asami's Sion were at odds with each other through Yoh, and then letting Yoh stay with him and leave Asami's employ after Akihito was retuned to him. It wasn't Asami, and it wasn't his little brother, separate or in any combination, so what was making him uneasy?

The day itself was fine, getting his people used to Asami's people, letting them have unprecedented access to his home and personnel, clearly demonstrating from the top down what their business and family was going to be like from now on. With this fast paced merger of business and family, Sion and Baishe, now would be the optimum time for an outright betrayal or even someone just making some money on the side by selling info, so both leaders slid right into an impromptu business meeting in the formal Baishe office down the hall from the dining room, Yoh taking Suoh with him to the centre of his web. Tao and Aki were either off plotting mayhem, or maybe playing some games and hanging out.

Taking a break from their machinations, Asami stood outside on the veranda, having a smoke as he talked to Kirishima about what was happening in Japan while Feilong sat inside, chin on his hand, staring at his cooling tea. He had a slight frown on his face, still feeling uneasy and still restless. Something was gnawing at the back of his mind, almost unnoticed, but persistent. Like the pressure build up before a migraine.

He knew he wasn't himself, he wasn't being a good host to his family and guests and soon-to-be partner. And he'd barely talked to Aki. Yoh knew something was wrong, but hadn't said anything yet. Tao was being smart and keeping a low profile after his newly gained freedom. In fact, Tao wasn't the only staying out of his way. The house staff and his own men had been avoiding him, too.

Abandoning his tea, he gracefully stood and moved over to the table to skim over the next documents they had to review before completing their intrigues and moving on to some relaxing drinks, which he felt like he needed. He found he was thinking about drinking again lately. He was trying to deny it, because he didn't desire or want it, really. Yoh had been there to help him through his own rehab program, and he wasn't going to put him through that again. He just needed to get past whatever this was, and he'd be himself again. For better or worse.

Standing bent over the table, he rubbed his eye with the heel of his palm, feeling vaguely frustrated and distracted. Enough so, in fact, that he didn't notice a section his hair sliding off his shoulder and pooling over the paperwork, nor the sound of someone approaching him from his off side. The first indication that another body was close to him was when a man's finger scooped up the tendrils of hair and tucked them back over his shoulder. Glancing up, it wasn't either pair of familiar brown eyes he was used to, or even laughing blue ones. These eyes were framed by elegant eyebrows quirked in amusement with a twinkle of mischief in their golden depths.

While the adults were off doing their adult business things, Aki and Tao took off after lunch to get some serious male bonding and gaming in before dinner. Florid discussions about classes, the second season of "Ajin: Demi-Human" and the finer points of using physics and slapstick to get through KTBG ensued. The talk later turned to other issues: the impending merger announcement, and more importantly, Feilong's upcoming birthday.

Between the two of them, they thrashed out plans for dinner en famile, making sure to include Feilong's favourite meal and how to have everyone enjoy dessert. Tao contacted one of the antique book dealers that the Liu family trusted, to ensure their gift would be ready for pickup tomorrow as they had planned. Seeing as how there were a few hours still before the welcome supper, both boys decided to head into town to pick up some items ahead of time for the party.

Tao went to round up a vehicle and a mixed escort (per Asami's and Feilong's standing orders) while Aki headed to the office to let Fei and Asami know they were heading out for awhile. Hopefully the two were playing nice with each other, he really wasn't in the mood to walk into the middle of another armed standoff.

As he rounded the corner to stop at the office door, he saw Feilong standing at the table, rubbing his eye, as Asami silently walked over to him and picked up his hair to tuck back over his shoulder. Did Ryuichi's finger just caress Fei's cheek? And why were they looking at each other like that…? Oh gods, did they still have feelings for each other… Fuck. No, not this again. He wasn't going there again.

'Ryuichi asked ME to marry him. He wants me. I'm the one that he's chased down, fought for, let go when I needed to get away… I'm the one he missed for three. god damned. wasted. years.' 'And for three years Feilong was the one he kept in contact with and depended on to protect you' a subconscious voice whispered back.

One that sounded suspiciously like that shit Shuu… Spinning around , he moved back down the hallway to the garage before he was noticed, texting Asami, Fei, Yoh and Suoh what Tao and he were doing, and getting the fuck outta Dodge before he had a violent altercation with a voice in his head.

After picking up the gift, the boys headed off looking for an antique shop for a carved wood box and a few metres of painted rice paper and silk to wrap the book in.

The boys also noticed a couple of non-Asian non-tourists that were keeping tabs of the group. The guards kept an eye on them as reports were made to both security team leaders. As they had a definite Russian look to them, it was expected that Arbatov would send a recon team in advance of his showing up "unexpectedly" to the upcoming soirée, so that part of the scheme seemed to be going ahead as planned. And all that time Aki was trying to fight a holding action in his head, and all that time he was losing ground. Several other familiar voices had joined the first one, whispering about how Fei was a better match for Ryuichi, how the two were formidable rivals and would make an unbeatable power couple.

And how they just looked so right together. He was giving himself a splitting headache while his guts were roiling and he felt cold inside and out. Tao kept an eye on him, knowing that a quiet Akihito meant potential trouble as he tried to work things out for himself instead of "bothering" (as he saw it) others with his problems. All he could do is let the others know what was happening, and wait for his big bro to talk to them and let them know what he was going through. And pray the gods he didn't do something dumb before then.

Supper that night was, um, awkward? Both Feilong and Akihito were subdued as Asami, Yoh and Tao tried to carry on a conversation while casting glances between themselves and their quiet dinner companions. Feilong seemed distracted as he picked away at the food on his plate, occasionally frowning, and he absentmindedly rubbed the pressure point below his thumb like he was trying to relieve a headache. The blond was just as quiet, not talking to or looking at anyone and barely touching his food; definitely unAkihito behaviour.

When Fei left the table without finishing his wine or making sure everyone was satisfied and well taken care of, his little brother mumbled something about being tired and retired to go to bed, the remaining men became more concerned. Asami left Yoh and Tao soon afterwards and headed up to their suite, intent on talking to his kitten.

When he got to their bedroom, the light was on, and the bed looked like his boy had tried laying down, but it was now empty. A quick search showed that Akihito wasn't in the ensuite, out on balcony or sitting area, and a quick IM to Suoh verified that he hadn't left the house itself. Another IM to Tao and Yoh soon lead to directions to his boy's room in the family wing, where Yoh was waiting outside Aki's door while Tao was checking on Feilong. He was holding a tray with a decanter of Asami's whiskey and tumbler, a crystal ash tray and lighter.

Asami nodded as he knocked on the door and waited. When there wasn't any noise from inside the room, he tried the door handle. It opened easily, and Asami stepped into the dark room. Yoh turned on a table light after putting the tray down as Asami looked around the room. It was a warm and casual place, just like his kitten. Yoh wished him a good night as he left, and Asami made himself comfortable removing his outer clothes, then slipped into his boy's bedroom.

He stopped, frowning unhappily when he saw his kitten curled up in a tight ball of misery, arms gripping himself, shoulders shaking as he sobbed silently. The crime lord's first instinct was to get on that bed, cuddle his boy to his chest and rock him gently, kissing his hair, until he calmed down. But, since his Akihito came here to be alone, he respected the boy's wish and went to sit down on a chair by the table, and poured himself a drink. After he finished it, he went to the balcony door and opened it before lighting up a Dunhill. He stood in the doorframe, leaning against it with his head hanging, aching because his little love was in pain.

When Akihito woke up next morning, he had slumped into full blown depression. He sat up in bed feeling melancholy, like he was caught in the middle of a war between his head and his heart. He loved both Asami and Feilong. He had given his heart to the yakuza overlord, and he knew deep down Asami had given him his, and that Asami was a faithful lover. He also knew Feilong would never do anything to hurt him. But did he have the right to keep them apart if they really wanted to be together?

He felt numb and nauseous, his head all confused. He had seen Asami and Feilong together, and he thought they just looked so good together. He was, what, a failed criminal photographer turned teacher trainee; who would want that. Maybe Asami marrying him was some sort of expected reaction, not that it was insincere, but something more like atonement. Really, he should be with someone who can stand beside him as an equal, able to give him an heir, both of which Feilong had. These thoughts had been swirling around, growing in depth. It also hadn't helped when every time he came into a room, Asami and Feilong and the others had stopped talking and watched him.

That was when Akihito had his reality check. Maybe he shouldn't have gone back to Tokyo. He could have stayed with Feilong, but maybe he should have moved to Europe or the Americas to do his teaching internship.

He could transfer his studies, go back with one of his intern friends to Finland or Canada, or even Hawai'i for a while maybe, give Asami a chance to breath and realise his mistake, and then maybe try to stay close to him and Feilong later.

Akihito had cried himself empty last night.

He loved Asami, and knew they loved each other deeply. But maybe that near death experience when he had been shot on the ship had made them both project tangled emotions onto each other when they weren't really there to begin with. Now, no matter what he felt for his Ryuichi, marriage seemed like a bad idea, somehow more like he would be entrapping his beloved. And he would never, ever want to do that.

Izaya shenanigans

Akihito: What do you call sabotage and vandalisom?

Izaya: A hobby

Akihito: ...

Izaya: That I do not engage in.


	29. 28 Hong Kong part 2

Summary:

Feilong and Akihito are each having their own difficulties, and decide to get some "family counselling"... by going clubbing for the night. Really, what could possibly happen...?

Notes:

So, this is my second chapter update, partially based on Sleepy_robin's notes, partially based on skipping my meds (joking! Or am I? o_O)

Chapter Text

Home to Hong Kong, part II

Akihito woke up from what little restless sleep he could get. Weary and feeling like refried shit, he rubbed away the tear tracks on his face and ran his fingers through his hair. Even though he hadn't eaten much the day before, his stomach didn't grumble with hunger. Shrugging off his sheets, he got up up and slouched into the bathroom. After taking care of this and that, he showered and put on some clothes he had left in the closet. Stepping out of his bedroom, he caught the scent of cigarette ash in his sitting room. Startled, he glanced over at the arm chair, and sucked in an unhappy breath. Asami was slumped, deep asleep in the chair. What was he doing here? He must been tired from traveling and the work they did yesterday, he should have slept in his own bed. If he had wanted to sleep with him, he would have just climbed into bed with him instead of staying here, drinking and smoking… Oh gods, was he torn between wanting to be with Fei last night, and some misplaced feeling of loyalty to him? He had to leave, fast. Let them work out whatever was between them without him getting in the way. He wouldn't run away, though. He'd talk to Fei before he left, let them know he wasn't angry and he wanted nothing but the best for them both. But he couldn't face either of them right now. In fact, he couldn't face anybody. He'd just slip down to the kitchen, grab something to eat and drink, and then be alone for a while. He had to think some things out before he left.

His household was is a quiet uproar. Not only were preparations underway for his birthday tomorrow, but now Boss' adopted younger brother had not been seen since dinner the night before, and the Japanese guest was an imposing presence within the mansion as he stalked about, hunting for the young man. Feilong let him and Tao search were they would, making sure that Suoh and Yoh were in constant contact with their people inside and outside the property. When Aki still didn't come to eat lunch with them, Feilong decided to go get the boy himself. Where Tao, and most especially Aki was concerned, if they were quiet, you'd better find them. Quick.

Leaving the veranda from the back of the house, he entered the courtyard garden and scouted around the ponds first. Finding no clues, he then cast around the outer walls until he came across a foot trail across one of the landscaped planting beds between clumps of painted ferns and fluffy astilbes in bloom, heading behind the peony trees at the end of the terrace. Ducking down to pass under two of the plants that arched together, Feilong saw the trail end at the top of the ivy-covered retaining wall that met the corner of the family wing outside wall. Glancing down, he didn't see any tracks among the caladium plants at the wall base. Studying the top of the wall, he saw where vine stems were crushed by footsteps, and followed the tracks to the quoins at the corner of the house. Making his way over the top of the wall, Feilong saw some scuffing on the top of the decorative masonry that wrapped around the corner. Testing with his fingers tips for a grip, he scaled the wall past the overhang and pulled himself up onto the roof. Walking into the incline, he moved up the roof and slipped over the balustrade onto a hidden platform between peaks of the roof. Feilong looked around: no one had even realised this observation deck/shooter's nest had been up here. He supposed he'd be up here in the coming weeks, poking around under the eaves of the different attics with Yoh, seeing just what else was up here. Walking over to the open door, he bent down to enter the hidden space. As his eyes got used to the gloom inside, he caught sight of a bundle of clothes with a nest of blond hairs sticking out. The assassin moved over to what he still considered "his boy", but for a totally different reason than the yakuza did. He stood quietly for a moment, observing Akihito, then spoke. "Little brother, why didn't you tell any of us you were in pain?"

A muffled noise came from inside the mass, before he heard a reply of "I didn't want to be a burden. I can deal with my own problems, can't I? If not, how could I even be worthy of being part of his life? Any of yours?"

Settling himself down, Feilong sat on his heels beside the blond, paying attention to his Aki's rambling about how he should leave his Fei and Ryu to be together, business and relationship wise, while he tried to sort himself out. How it was all for the best, really. How Tao didn't need a mess like him complicating his teenage years. And that's precisely when Feilong lost his patience. Grabbing Akihito by the shoulders, he hauled the boy in against his body and kissed him, hard, trapping him within his tight embrace. He poured his care, his love and concern, his guilt and his want into that kiss, trying to make the boy understand what he meant to him. When he released him from that kiss, he looked down into shocked blue eyes and quietly told him "You won't leave us on my birthday. You are going to stay tonight and tomorrow night with us, here, and you are going to sleep on it before you make any decisions. The day after tomorrow will be soon enough to do whatever you think you have to do. But tonight, you and I are going drinking."

Akihito listened to his big brother, watching those lips that had been on his mouth moments ago, mesmerized, then started in surprise at Feilong's announcement. "Drinking? Are you nuts?! You haven't gotten drunk in years! What the hell, man?"

"Because, my dear boy, I have recently been under a lot of stress with the merger, I have been worried about you more than usual, and I've been trying to behave while in close personal quarters with your fiancé and his men, who I've previously expended a great deal of time and energy maintaining a personal animosity against. If I am going to age a whole year overnight, I am fucking going to do something stupid to feel like I earned it."

They looked at each other for a few seconds before they grinned at the same time. Aki bumped Fei on the shoulder with his own and knocked his head back, his look and stance showing he was back at sass level 10. A good place to start from. Putting his arm around the blond's shoulders, he surveyed their surroundings with an amused look. "So, little one, did you find a way to the lower floor any of the times you've been up here, or do we go down the same way we came up?"

Akihito eyed his big bro's usual house cheongsam and snickered. "Why, do you need someone to hold your dress outta the way as you climb down? Shall I go first to hand you down when you alight from your castle, Princess?"

Gazing into those dancing blue eyes, Feilong's face became morose, his eyes forlorn. He shook his head sadly before saying "I lost your respect the first time I threatened to sell you then didn't follow through, didn't I?" Aki laughed and blew him a really wet raspberry.

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, the dynamic duo went their separate ways to clean up and make themselves pretty for the night ahead. Meeting up again later at the back staircase, Aki took a moment to appreciate his "date" for the evening, taking in the the sex on a stick in blue jeans that stopped and posed for a moment on the landing above him, then descended the stairs to a lusty wolf whistle from the blond. Checking out his boy's own ensemble of denim and silk, the unruly hair and bright eyes, Feilong silently breathed a sigh of relief that the boy hadn't relapsed back into his own personal hellhole. Leading the way to the side car park, he clicked "send" on the message he had typed on his phone earlier as he paused beside the open rear car door and tied his hair back in a loose braid; knowing it would take a few moments to forward the text from Suoh and Yoh to Asami, keeping to the spirit of not allowing anyone of their combined group to leave the house unescorted by a mixed team, if not the intent behind it. Besides, he'd kept his promise to let Asami know that Aki was safe with him, he just didn't mention when he had found him, or where they were heading. He was going to have a private talk with his Akihito, and by the time his business partner and company found out which of his clubs they were going to, he planned to have them both good and drunk.

When Asami stalked into the club with Suoh and an equally displeased Yoh on his heels, he didn't wait for the accompanying guards to spread out. He stood still in the lounge area by the booths surrounding the dance floor and swept the room with a deadly glare that settled on a mob of people standing at a corner leather banquette and table. Approaching the scene, Asami saw the seating area was raised a step above the main floor. Standing head and shoulders above everyone else, he could see a rather impressive collection of shot glasses, highballs and cocktail umbrellas gathered in the centre of the table, and what he recognized as Feilong's beautiful hair pooled on the table itself, coloured light reflected in the dark tendrils. The Baishe leader's head was on top of a pile of it, face down, his arms wrapped limply around his head. Asami turned sideways to wedge his way through the mass of hopefuls trying to score an evening with the gorgeous male, some of the pack getting bitchy about the disturbance until they caught sight of who was disrupting their game. Making his way through the cluster of lesser beings, he stopped once he got to the table, provoking the until-then Alpha of the group to growl "The fuck you think you're…" until he got a good look at the other hottest thing he'd ever seen that wasn't covered in hot fudge sauce and sprinkles. Asami, for his part, didn't even waste a glance at any of them, focusing in on the fact that there was only one Feilong and zero Kitten present.

Feilong weakly raised his hand, and without moving his head, pointed to Asami and said "This is my business partner and future brother-in-law." Swivelling his hand about, he pointed to Suoh who had joined the crowd and continued. "That is his head of security," before moving his hand again to point at a nearly scowling Yoh and said "that is my lover, and them, they are our men…" as he casually swept his hand to include the ring of hostile men in suits that had closed in on the group. The clump broke up and quietly dissipated in ones and twos until only Asami and the stupid but ballsy "alpha" were left at the table. The somewhat inebriated man blinked between the puddle on the table and the imposing specimen in the suit between them, and queried "Then who's the blond pretty boy who came in with you…?" Golden eyes swung in his direction, impaling him with a look that seemed like the sexiness attached to it was deciding between having a flamethrower or a grenade dispose of him. Deciding finally that discretion was the better part of valour, he quietly slunk away.

Asami turned back to Feilong, and found Yoh at his side, checking on his condition. Lighting up one of his Dunhills while he waited, Asami scanned the dance floor, looking for any sign of his boy. Hearing Yoh ask Feilong where Akihito was as he tried to get his lover to drink some water, Asami looked back at the some-what retired assassin to watch as Fei proved he was part liquid, part cat by simultaneously drawing his legs up from under the table as he smoothly twisted his body around until his legs were hanging over the back of his seat and he lay face up, the back of his headed pillowed on the pile of hair still on the table as an arm was unsteadily thrown over his eyes. The other hand pointed unerringly towards a clump of moving bodies on the dance floor; like a school of bait fish, each youth seemed to be trying to get close to the centre for safety, away from the circling predators. As he watched, the crowd parted for an instant and he caught a glimpse of his kitten. Asami then realised that the little fish were staying away from where Akihito was dancing, and it was the carnivores circling his boy. Tossing his cigarette into one of the empty glasses on the table, he caught Suoh's eye and pointed with his chin towards the dance floor as he moved out. Two pairs of guards broke off and followed, spreading out behind him to form a wedge. The minnows skittered out of his way without even looking, the harriers scattered when they saw the apex predators approaching. Only two of the hunters were left when he reached Akihito: one was down on his knees, forehead pressed to the floor as one hand covered his bloodied nose, the other cradled his balls. The second man, bruised and disheveled, was behind the unsteady blond's back preparing to entrap him in a bear hug. Without hesitation Asami grabbed the male's arm, spun him away from his boy and smashed his fist into the other's jaw in one movement. Leaving the unconscious sack of shit where he dropped, Asami scooped his kitten up in his arms and over his shoulder, his left arm curling about the boy's thighs to keep hold of him as he turned about and headed back to Feilong's table. Yoh had Feilong upright on his feet, arm around his lover's back, supporting him, but Asami was in no mood to wait for them to coax the triad leader out of the club. Stooping down beside his former rival, Asami put his right arm under Feilong's hips and tucked him up against his chest while supporting his knees. Standing up while holding both men, one draped limply over his shoulder, one seated on his arm leaning against him, he nodded to Suoh and Yoh to move out as some of the mere mortals milling about them gaped in awe at the man's departure.

Not too long after, Feilong was on the floor in front of Yoh, moaning quietly as the Japanese man swept back his hair. Yoh's steadying hand on top of his head felt comforting as he moved, helping him as he fought off the dizziness. He found he either had too much saliva to swallow, or else his mouth was sticky and dry. He had to stop for a moment as a wave of nausea swept over him. Wiping the back of his hand over his mouth, he closed his eyes for a moment, willing the room to stop spinning. He hung his head, loose strings of alcohol-soaked hair dangling close to his nose almost making him dry heave. Yoh held his shoulders, gently pulling the strands away from his face. Feilong looked up, concentrating on a spot on the ceiling, taking calming breaths through his nose and exhaling from his mouth, all while fighting to ignore random odours trying to trigger his gag reflex. Yoh bent over him, looking him in the eyes, talking in a calm, soothing tone, a sympathetic smile on his face. He gently drew the long black hair through his fingers over and over again, quietly loving the way the silky hair felt in his grasp.

"So boss, was it worth reversing four years worth of letting your liver heal itself in one night?"

Fei groaned at the loud, torturous noise the other man made. "Be glad I'm the man who loves you right now, not your master. That other man would kill you without regret." Chuckling, Yoh leaned over a bit further to plant a kiss on Fei's forehead. That made the Baishe leader smile a little. "Happy birthday, my lovely, fearsome, wrathful master."

"Yoh, as much as I adore you and want you in my life, for the sake of your body and my sanity, shut. up."

Combing the cascade of blue/black hair with his fingers, he asked teasingly. "Did the drinking at least chase away whatever doleful kami was plaguing you this past week?"

Resigning himself to the fact that this horrible noise was going to continue, he tried using the technique he'd learned to contain and then ignore pain. Unfortunately, he realised too late that the part of his brain that was trying to brutally murder him was also the part in charge of dispelling pain, so that idea was out. Apparently, it was getting revenge for all the times he had abused it, and payback was a bitch. Grumbling something about how he didn't think he'd been that obvious, Feilong leaned his head against Yoh's legs, and prayed for a quick death. Yoh wriggled his fingers through the thick hair to Fei's scalp, and started massaging it gently. Fei groaned again, because as good as it felt, it felt awful.

"Asami wondered if you knew how old your mother was when she died. He said when he turned the same age his mother was when she passed, it did a number on him for a while too."

Feilong opened his eyes and went still. The room didn't spin, there wasn't any distracting noises or odours, and Yoh was supporting him. And his once most bitter enemy had figured out what was wrong with him, and was quietly telling him that he had gone through this too, and understood. Sighing, he got up on his knees. "Before I go to sleep, I'm going to finish this."

Yoh just shook his head and gathered up all the loose hair again as his Feilong bent forward to his task, and with a deep inhale took firm hold of the toilet.

It was still dark when Akihito finally came around. He and Fei had been drinking heavily as they hashed things out the night before. His hangover felt like a rattling buzzsaw running through his head. Groaning inwardly, he started getting some of his senses back. Slowly he realised he was lying on his back, his wrists were hand cuffed above his head and he was blindfolded. 'Well, shit' was all he thought when he felt a presence near him. Akihito tried to move away from whomever was sitting beside him when he felt fingers gently caress his chest, grazing a nipple as the hand swept down his torso.

"Don't fuckin' touch me you bastard!" Akihito snarled, pulling on his restraints. The hand slid back up Akihito's body. "Fuck. I said STOP IT! When I get free, and I damn well will, I am so gonna fuck your ass up." Akihito was angry and nauseous as he spat out the words. Whoever was touching him still stayed silent as his fingers moved to part his unbuttoned shirt, then gracefully skimmed across Akihito's smooth chest, along his collarbone, up his neck, along his jawline before suddenly gripping his chin tightly. He felt lips close by on his cheek. Akihito was about to yell again when the hand gripped tighter to keep his face in place as the unknown man ghosted a kiss on Akihito lips. As the man pulled away Akihito's brow changed from an angry "I'm gonna kill you" scowl to a more confused "huh?" look. "Asami...?" he whispered. Akihito heard a small chuckle in reply. "Asami, you fuckin' bastard, take this fuckin' blindfold off me right. the fuck. NOW." Akihito was angry, confused, and his head was hurting like an atom that was being split.

"I am so glad you know my touch. That pleases me, my little kitten." Asami's fingers grazed one of his boy's nipples again. Akihito failed to stop a gasp from escaping. "Oh my sweet Akihito, what should I do with you when you have been such a naughty kitten?" Asami leaned forward, giving another chaste kiss as he moved off the bed. Akihito was trying to pull at his restraints.

"Asami, what are you on about?" Akihito grumbled as he tried to remember what happened last night. Jumbled fragments of the evening before bubbled to the surface. He remembered going to a club with Fei. He'd been upset, both men talked as they drank, then he needed to blow off some energy, so he thought he'd go dancing, staying where his big brother could keep an eye on him. "So... I went clubbing last night and had a drink," Akihito mumbled to himself "or five… Why am I blindfolded and chained up?" he asked again, rattling the handcuffs.

Asami hadn't moved and watched Akihito struggle. While his face was impassive, he was furious inside. Akihito had forgotten what he did yesterday and last night. Asami was trying very hard to keep his anger in check.

Akihito had stopped struggling and lay still. Cocking his head, he breathed quietly, listening. "Ryuichi...? What did I do last night? Whatever it was, I'm sorry. All I remember was that I'd been depressed, hurting, and angry with myself." Akihito voice was low and sad. Asami stood, looking down at his Akihito, his anger slowly subsiding. He moved closer, his fingers caressed Akihito's cheek. Akihito automatically moved his head closer to feel his touch.

'Why does he still doubt himself?' Asami frowned, his anger finally drifting off as he took his fingers away. Asami had sat watching a sleeping Akihito all night, smoking a complete packet of Dunhills, furious with him. He had waited for his anger to subside enough that he could deal with his boy without fear of accidentally hurting him. He knew Akihito loved him and would never want to leave him again, but he was angry, not for his actions at the club (well, maybe a few), but for the conversation he had with Feilong, during which the had quietly speed dialled his number so he could listen in as their boy admitted to having doubts that he was good enough to be with him, that he didn't deserve his crime lord like Feilong did. Asami couldn't help but surround himself with strong individuals; that was the way his business was, and that was the kind of people that were drawn to his side. But it was the boy's insecurities and self doubts that truly made him angry.

Akihito had always been a ball of contradictions: he was the most stubborn, strong willed, die hard positive person he'd ever met, but could also become the most cripplingly vulnerable boy, making Asami instinctively need to protect his precious Akihito. The boy was as strong and fierce as he was beautiful, much more than any of his colleagues or enemies. Akihito also still had an innocence about him which hadn't diminished over the years. He was still open and trusting, too much sometimes, which would infuriate him. Akihito knew how he felt about their relationship, so why did he even start thinking such things. Sometimes his kitten could wind him up enough to think about cheerfully wringing his neck. Asami had decided that he would make Akihito understand how beautiful, strong and in what high esteem he was held so he would never doubt his worth again. Akihito softly groaned at the loss of contact. "Don't worry, my Akihito. I need some time, but I'll be back soon. Because we need to settle this. Today." Asami murmured before he kissed his kitten's forehead and left the room. Akihito could hear Asami's feet on the carpet floor outside the door, moving away. Akihito was desperately trying to remember what events occurred a few hours earlier. Why was Asami so angry?

"What happened last night?" Akihito whispered to himself, as he was trying to break free from the handcuffs with a neat trick he'd discovered. Asami's voice had been cool in his responses, which worried Akihito; what did he do to piss him off? Akihito should be the one pissed off, not getting punished. That thought galvanized Akihito into action. Wiggling up the bed, he was able to make enough slack in the cuff chains that they hung down limply when his arms were raised, allowing him to move his forearms somewhat. Hooking his fingers through the loose cuff attached to the bed frame, he maneuvered his arms close to his head to work off the blindfold. Once that was done, he checked on the length of the chain between the swivels each cuff. Then slowly, carefully, he began to manipulate the links of chain around the swivel until it was coiled around the swivel and couldn't twist about any more. Maintaining a taught force against the nonfunctioning swivel, he began to increase the tension between the chain and the cheek of the cuff where the swivel was trapped in a channel until the metal of the cuff cheek gave slightly. Doing this again allowed enough of the channel to give way that the swivel was pulled out of the channel of the cuffs, right between where the cheek rivets were. One hand down, one to go…

Izaya's Shenanigans

—-

TV: Are you ready kids?

Izaya: *watching TV* Aye aye captain!

TV: I can't hear you...

Izaya: *screams this time* Aye Aye Captain!

Asami: SHUT THE FUCK UP IT'S 3 IN THE FUCKING MORNING!

Izaya: knick knack it's time to snack~

Izaya: munch much it's time for lunch~

Izaya: you're in luck, we're going to fu-

Asami/Akihito/Kei: Do you ever think before you speak?!


	30. 29 Hong Kong part III

Chapter 29: Home to Hong Kong, part III

Home to Hong Kong, part III

When Asami stopped outside of the door to Aki's bedroom, he waited a moment to see if he could hear any noise inside the room. No yelling, cursing or hysterical wailing, so that meant either his boy was melancholy, was thinking about his behaviour over the last thirty some hours, or quite possibly had fallen back asleep. Opening the door, he took in the bed, just to NOT see a prone kitten NOT cuffed to the headboard. It took several seconds for his eyes to communicate to his stunned brain that not only were the handcuff chains dangling limply, but the missing cuffs themselves were on the side table, open beside a bent and mangled paperclip and the blindfold. Looking automatically to the window in the room, he saw it was open, but the screen was still intact and in place. Just then, the light in Akihito's bathroom clicked off, and his blond walked out, a towel around his waist, and a smaller one in his hands, pressed against his hair to soak up the water. Noticing somebody in his room, Aki looked at his lover for a second before he motioned to the handcuffs. "Hey. If you borrowed those, they're useless now, so I'll replace them. If they were yours, suck it."

Asami blinked before taking another step forward and asking "How the hell did you do that? Was it something you learned from Feilong?"

His boy finished with the towel on his head and gave him a cheeky grin as he tossed it into the hamper. "Nope. YouTube. Yoh had Tao and me look up all the ways to get out of handcuffs and zip ties, and I came across this link. Impressed the hell outta Fei too."

Shaking his head, Asami sat down on the edge of the bed, grateful that his kitten hadn't run again, and seemed to be back to normal, and proud of his clever boy despite the trouble down the road this new talent may cause him. And while part

of his mind was occupied with finding out what a Takaba wore under his towel, he

was still annoyed enough to ignore that distraction and zero in on the heart of the matter.

"I asked you to marry me, so why did you think you are not good enough for me, Akihito. Do I need to beat it into you while we're away from home? I am yours and you are mine. I should have addressed your doubts long ago, I know that

now, but I thought the ring on your finger would have been enough. It's been a

while since we've played with pain. Do you think a refresher is necessary until you understand; believe that it's only you I want?"

Akihito swallowed. Asami wasn't angry, he was pissed, more than he'd ever seen before; well, except when he was being shot at. 'Did I really make that big a mistake...?'

"But before we start, explain this to me: why did you get drunk and then spill your guts to Feilong about how you thought I couldn't possibly want you, my Akihito?"

"How the hell did you overhear our conversation?!"

"It doesn't matter how I heard your and Feilong's drunken meanderings. It was lucky I arrived when I did, gods only know what you would have done if I hadn't arrived." Akihito only looked more confused, if it was possible.

"I was only dancing." Asami made a derisive snort. Akihito was dancing alright; from security reports in the club, the blond was giving random strangers vertical lap dances. Then got into a fight over it and nearly broke a guy.

"Fine." The boy sighed and moved towards Asami. "I'm not blaming anyone in particular, but you've got to admit, Ryuichi, that hearing over and over again, from you on down your crew to Feilong, Suduo and Sakazaki that I'm not worth your time or attention, does wear a person down." Holding out his hand to stop Asami from interrupting, he continued quietly. "That many people telling you the same thing can't be wrong, can they."

Akihito turned away from a troubled Asami toward his dresser, thinking to get

dressed and go down to breakfast when a large hand gripped his waist for a second before the towel beneath it unraveled and slid to the floor. Looking down at the bundle of cotton around his feet, the blond glanced at Asami with a deadpan face and said "That, sir, was you smoothest move yet." Asami gave him

a little smile, tightened his grip and pulled his boy back to him and sat him

down on the bed.

Akihito grinned as the last whiff of booze vapour in his brain cells took effect.

"And just how do you plan on beating me, Feilong's little brother, inside OUR own home?" Asami's eyebrows shot up at that sudden curve. "If you asked to borrow some of his toys, he might have something to say about it… Yoh would likely take a pretty dim view of it, too. And as for Tao, you're on some pretty thin ice with him already, mister. Considering he's likely the one who's gonna be choosing all of our senior care residences when the time comes, you may want to get him on your side now. What're you planning on doing, Asami, whip out that monster Moby Dick of yours and thump me with it repeatedly? Won't that cause blunt force trauma? Muscle contusions, bruises? It would suck long and hard if The Wife showed up all black and blue to the party…"

Asami couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh at his brat. Such a mouth on him! Who else had ever dared to talk to him that way, except Kei, Kazumi or Shinji; and that usually required repeated applications of alcohol, en masse. Gazing down into those teasing blue eyes, he couldn't help but kiss his kitten.

Their first kiss was always the most dangerous; at times he could be swept up by

just being near enough to smell Akihito's warm scent, but tonight was about making his little blond knew once and for all he wanted him, so he struggled to calm himself down. Once all the nips and giggles were done and they'd both sobered some, he let the boy see his heart through his golden eyes.

"I would die for you, Akihito, even with all this pain you put me through. I took two bullets for you from the man who's bedroom is just down the hallway. Sometimes I got numb from the backstabbing business partners and all the others who tried to take something away from me, and you, the only one who didn't want anything from me, was the only one who seemed to know how to rip me open. I want for you to understand that all you need to do is love me. You have power over me, Akihito. Sometimes I think I love you more than you love me."

Asami's voice for once was low and so very sad.

"No one can replace you, Ryuichi. I would take a bullet for you, but I know you

wouldn't let that happen. And I don't want you to die for me, I want you to live

with me. All of me loves all of you, because I gave you all of me a long time ago. I fell so hard for you, and sometimes you seemed so remote I just wanted to break through your walls. Even when I thought I was running for my life, hurting after I was convinced I saw you cheating on me, all I wanted was to be enough for you, and for you to want to love only me."

Asami rolled him over, pinning him to the mattress, causing the bed to creak. "I have everything I could ever want, but I would give it all up for a lifetime with you." Akihito swallowed. Asami had changed; he was still a ruthless son of a bitch to the rest of the world, but to a select few, he could be warm and funny. And when they were alone, he could be so open and romantic at times...

Asami's hand gripped Akihito's throat and squeezed suddenly. Akihito's eyes held no fear, only love and desire. Relaxing his grip a little he asked his boy "Do you trust me? " Akihito didn't hesitate to nod yes. Asami sighed and released his hold, just resting his hand on Akihito's slender throat. "So, why do you trust me unconditionally with your life, but not your heart? Akihito, why can't you give me your heart?"

Moving slightly, Akihito caressed Asami's cheek. "My life and my heart are one. I gave you both on the yacht after we left the casino cruise. I guess I was just overwhelmed with coming back here, to Hong Kong and Feilong, with you. It will pass. I-" he paused, before glancing up at his lover. It felt like a storm had come up out of nowhere, stirred up all kinds of crap, and now it had passed. What he had to do was fix the damage, and clean up the mess. "I understand now, Ryuichi." Akihito sniffled, apologising for his behavior. Asami had already somewhat forgiven him before he came back into the room. Maybe they should've had this talk long ago, but Asami's pride wouldn't let him. He'd said the words of love, but Akihito had needed more.

"Akihito, tell me what I need to hear." Akihito cocked his head for a moment, thinking, then snapped to with sudden determination.

"I am much stronger than this, and it will pass. I am all you'll ever need and

desire. And you. are mine." Akihito leaned forward to rest his hands on Asami's

broad shoulders, who bent down to take a searing kiss. When air was needed,

Asami moved over and whispered in Akihito ear: "Just remember, my beloved... you are also mine."

Asami kissed the red lines on Akihito's wrists, rubbing them gently with his

thumbs. Akihito felt tired, but still had some energy left. He threw his arms

around Asami's shoulders and kissed him deeply. Asami smiled and returned the kiss. Feeling stronger within himself, Akihito looked at Asami and smiled a peaceful smile. Tapping Asami's shoulder, he pushed against him until his dark haired devil rolled onto his side. Akihito smirked as he commented that sitting up against the headboard was more comfortable without clothes on. And if there was an Olympic sport for sexiest speed stripping, Asami would have been awarded all three medals for his performance. Heading down to Asami's ankles, Akihito started to kiss slowly up his calf then his knee, never taking his eyes off Asami's face, who was trying not to grin. The blond kissed Asami's thigh, nipping it when he saw the bigger's man's cock twitch, but Akihito ignored it to lick and slurp up along his well-defined torso and over his chest, making obnoxious noises all the way, then up his neck to nip his ear, moving over to the corner of his jaw. Akihito could see the golden eyes flare with desire as Akihito made sure to wiggle his hips as he moved back down to the other ankle and blazed a trail up Asami's body with licks and nips and sucks until he got to those breath taking lips, where he moved to straddle his man's hips. Clasping Asami's cheeks tenderly, he pulled him into a deep kiss. It had taken a few minutes since his fiancé had come back into this room for Akihito to realise Asami had been scared, Mister Big Bad Wolf was afraid Akihito had run again, so this benediction was all the reassurance he could give him. After their brain melting kiss, he tilted his head forward to rest against Asami's forehead, and whispered "mine", a declaration of love he was sure the yakuza would understand. Asami lifted his chin to peck his boy's lips, feeling a smirk on the other's lips before deepening the kiss.

Aki had been practicing a new move he'd read about for a week or so on some ice lollys, so right now was the perfect chance to see if he could manage to do it.

Asami relaxed back, rearranging some pillows as his Aki started to lick him and tease him, circling his groin slowly. To be honest, he hadn't wanted to be pleasured by his kitten right now, he wanted to do something else that would wreck his boy into a sopping, mewling, panting mess, but he could tell Akihito was determined to do this, so like with most things the little blond really wanted, Akihito got his way. Horrible really, how he spoiled his kitten.

Part way through, Akihito could feel Asami shift and hum his satisfaction as his

hardened cock twitched, causing him to scrunch up his own toes in anticipation.

He knew his own personal, adoring demon was getting close, but still he took a deep breath, then swallowed Asami's cock further down his throat. He moved his tongue around to sit under the penis at a rather strange angle ("like tying a knot in a cherry stem" was how it was described), so even Asami couldn't work out what he was up to until Akihito looked up with his big blue, oh so innocent eyes, and then he purred. It was deep, long and lusty, and it vibrated around the engorged cock that he held at his mercy.

That was all it took for Asami to tense up, gasp loudly in surprise as his head went back and his body convulsed as he exploded down Akihito's throat, who then sat back, quite happily licking his lips and looking quite smug until Asami finally came down from his high, pulled an unresisting Kitten to him and made his Akihito purr his own way. "Next time, my sweet Aki-hi-to, you'll be wearing cat ears and a tail that vibrates when you perform your new trick." Asami promised as he smiled darkly at his panting boy.

They sat soaking in the steaming bath together, Asami slowly washing Akihito's body carefully. The shaggy blond head was tilted back as it rested on Asami's shoulder, his eyes closed with the barest hint of a smile. The yakuza kissed his temple as he slowly cracked open his blue eyes.

"I'm sorry Ryuichi. It was never my intention to upset you."

"Akihito, I know. Up until now, you've blindly followed me into the abyss. I just

needed to jump in further…" Asami kissed him again, husky voice rumbling against Akihito's back.

"I'll follow you wherever this is headed, Ryuichi."

"Hmmm…, one step closer..." Asami's cupped hand poured warm water down Akihito's chest, but even with such an innocent act, their chemistry was undeniable as they both reacted to his shivers.

"Akihito, why would you ever think that I'd want Feilong over you."

"Asami…" the blond whined before he sighed and answered. "Relationship-wise,

I've only ever had you. And you can't deny you admire and were attracted to

Feilong."

"Mm, when I was younger there was a moment, but it never happened." Asami shrugged his shoulders.

"Why didn't you choose him?"

"We were too much alike. I couldn't make him less than what he was."

"But with me, you didn't have that problem."

"You're doing it again, Kitten; you took what I said out of context. You are by no means any less than Feilong; you are quite a bit more, in fact. Feilong and I are creatures of darkness and you're one of light. I needed to devour you, make you mine, which I did, but how I did it would have broke others. I would have broken Feilong, was what I was trying to say, but you, my beautiful Akihito... you are like a phoenix: no matter how dark it gets, you burn brighter. What's between Feilong and I is business and family, which means taking care of you, Tao and Yoh, nothing more. I am more afraid of whatever was between you and Feilong from before, and whatever you had with him."

"Actually, he had me. Thanks for bringing that up; helpful, really. I mean I've only had the one man I love with me in bed."

"I've had many sex partners, both men and women, mostly "one and done" in nature. I've had less than a handful of relationships; mostly when I was at university, then after Sion was established. However, my sweet kitten, I have only had one Akihito in my life, and I intend to keep it that way. So, if you really want to know, I've only had one Kitten in my home. No one else was worth the hassle."

"Oh..." realisation dawned on Akihito.

"I do hope you are now feeling quite stupid."

Akihito nodded, breaking out in an embarrassed blush. "Right, well, thanks for

your understanding. I'm going to sleep now." Akihito snarked. A deep chuckle

shook him from behind as the blond slowly shut his eyes, fatigue finally claiming him. He heard Asami whispering in his hair "My Akihito, I will always be at your side, never forget that."

"But," he continued in a louder voice as he gave the blond's ass cheek a sharp pinch to wake him up. "You need to decide something, young man: you either want Feilong and I to have a friendly partnership or we won't, and we'll just be family, running our own businesses. I am happy with either one. And he is a challenging rival. But as you wouldn't approve if I were to, say, shoot him as a first warning, my choices when responding to him would be limited."

Speaking of that particular devil, the top three males of the Baishe were lingering around the breakfast table, speculating about what the absence of Asami and Aki could mean. Well, more like two of them were speculating. The third was wearing a strained expression along with his designer sunglasses, indoors, at the breakfast table, all while nursing his expensive tea and looking like Death warmed over.

As Tao turned to say something to Feilong, they all heard a yell from somewhere upstairs, a slammed door, followed by running footfalls with a rumble of laughter chasing them. A few seconds later, a barefooted blond dynamo came charging down the stairs followed by a tall dark hunter closing in hot on his heels. As long arms flashed out to grasp the boy, he jumped over the stair banister and took off down the hall, past the breakfast room overlooking the garden and onward to the kitchen doors. As Tao and Yoh craned around to see what was happening, they could hear a cacophony of noise coming from behind the closed doors: sounds of laughing, threats, yells, cursing, cookware dropping on the floor and plates rattling before a loud squeal and finally the kitchen doors banged open to reveal a triumphant Asami, two bottles of water in one hand, a giggling red faced blond thrown over his shoulder, pilfered sandwiches in one hand, and a plate of cut fruit in the other. As they went by the doorway to the breakfast room, Asami gave the males within a smirk and a casual salute of his hand as the boy hanging over his back was still grinning and gave them a happy nod. After the pair had disap-peared back up the stairs, two heads looked back at each other, one of them blushing, the other looking calmly relieved. The third head was being carefully cradled in hands as sensitive fingers rubbed gentle circles at his temples. And all

he had to observe about the scene that had just taken place was that everything

seemed to be back to normal.

Feilong finally managed to pull himself together in time to look regal for his annual birthday celebration, where well wishers came to pay their respects and offer tokens of their fealty (or, as he personally thought of it, a bunch of has-beens and never-weres offered him cheap tributes and tawdry bribes so as not to eradicate their asses for another year). He sat on one of his elegant antique chairs as group after group sent their representatives with gifts that piled up on the dining room table. He was just about done with the flowery praise and fawning bullshit when Yoh came into the room and stood by his chair, leaning over to whisper something to the young triad leader. Feilong perked up in interest at the news, and nodded his assent. Moments later, a man was escorted into the room with his own entourage, unlike the others already in attendance, surrounded by key Baishe men. The room went dead silent as everyone realized who it was, and wondered at the implications of this visit. Kirishima Kei, 2nd in command of Sion and trusted keeper of secrets for the uncrowned Emperor of Japan stood calmly taking in the room while failing to take notice of anybody in there that wasn't part of Feilong's group. Approaching Feilong and Yoh, he stopped a safe distance away from the other leader and gave them a respectful bow that looked like it was calculated to the exact degree with a compass and a scientific calculator.

"Liu Feilong-sama. On behalf of Asami Ryuichi-sama and Sion, I was asked to convey his respects on this auspicious day, and to give you his regrets on not being able to give you his gift in person. However, as I was to come to Hong Kong in preparation for upcoming business, he felt it would be more appropriate to send it with me today rather than to come see you at a later date, personally. If I may?" At Feilong's nod, Kirishima turned and gestured toward the doorway. Two of Feilong's personal guards came in with a pair of Sion men, carrying between them what looked like a long coffee table top, wrapped in embroidered silk. As Kirishima stood aside for the gift to be presented, Yoh came forward to unveil it. The stony silence in the room changed to awed whispers of admiration as the long bronze wall plaque sporting a fierce, writhing dragon in clouds was revealed. A definite cultural treasure from one of the early dynasties, probably purchased on the antiquities black market and most assuredly priceless.

Feilong shook his head, hiding his grin with his hand. Glancing up at Yoh at this

surprise move of Asami's, they shared an amused look. The Face he gained through this gesture would be enormous, given the reputation of the one who sent it to him. The rumours and speculation this would start among "friend" and foe alike, anyone looking for any signs of weakness within the Baishe would back off from this turn of events. Looking after Family, indeed…. Taking a sip of tea,

Feilong faced the formidable man before him and spoke. "Kirishima-san, please allow me to express my thanks and appreciation for this remarkable gift. If you don't have any pressing matters that need attending to right away, would you do me the honour of having you and your men stay for awhile, to relax and recover from your journey? And please, pass along to Asami-sama my invitation to visit my home when his business here is finished. I would like his input on what he would deem a place of honour for his present." The proverbial pin drop could be heard as the team from Sion all bowed and Kirishima offered his thanks and acceptance for the invitation. Chairs were brought in for the group, and a place of honour was made for Kei by Feilong as trays of Champagne were circulated among all the guests. They talked quietly among themselves until the luncheon buffet out on the veranda was ready and the party moved outside.

Meanwhile, Aki had finally escaped the clutches of his carnivorous lover long enough to grab his tablet and phone and meet Tao in the staff kitchen set aside for the guards and security workers far away from the activity in the main house. Bribing the staff for use of the facilities hadn't been too hard, given the promise of fresh made cookies and treats, and the cook staff made sure that young master Tao's order of baking supplies, fruit and dessert toppings was delivered as promised. The next couple of hours was a noisy, fun exercise in baking for Tao as his big brother brought up his favourite recipes for individual angel food cakes, brownies and almond cookies. Flour and dough was thrown or stuck to unsuspecting victims, rogue escaping fruit was chased down and the inevitable selfies showing the boys sporting dollops of Crème Fraiche in various places were taken. Tao then made sure his birthday candles were handy and left special instructions for them when it came time for Feilong's family meal before everything was moved back to the main kitchen in preparation for dinner.

Once all the guests had left and the house was settling down again in late

afternoon, introductions were made between liaisons and team members as Kirishima and his team were moved into their suites among the rest of Asami's men in the dedicated wing they had taken over, now informally dubbed "Club Sion". In the midst of the updates and strategy meetings and plain out gossip sessions, Yoh received a request from the guards at the front drive gate. It seemed a late comer had shown up, asking specifically for him. As he approached the front gate, he saw a lovely classic 60's Mercedes Benz parked there, with a driver and someone seated in the back. Coming up to the lowered back window, he politely bowed and introduced himself. The older gentleman within looked him over appraisingly as he spoke, the cherry amber eyes not missing a trick as the elegantly dressed man explained that he was a business colleague of the late Master Liu, and had been absent from Hong Kong for about a decade or so, and had come to make the acquaintance with the new head of the Baishe, but seeing as how he had a full house of guests already, he had decided to call again at a later time, and wished to give Liu Feilong a private message instead. After passing over a red envelope, the gentleman said his goodbyes and departed. Yoh returned to the main house, and bypassing the pile of gifts and cards in the dining room, he rejoined Asami, Kirishima, Suoh and his Feilong in the courtyard garden, enjoying drinks and talking among themselves. Giving the envelope to Feilong, Yoh gave him a quick explanation before taking his seat and joining in the easy conversation. Feilong opened the envelope and took out a handwritten note on fine rice paper that simply said that after looking into the situation further, he had decided that Akihito would be protected. It went on to further state that Feilong may now discuss this with the others as he saw fit. The note finished with wishes for a happy and prosperous year, and the reminder that dragons guard their treasures jealously. It was signed "Tadashi", and had a contact number at the bottom. Relaxing somewhat, Feilong mentally moved another marker over to their side on his virtual abacus, wondering at how all seemed to fall under the the spell of the "Akihito Affect".

Finally, the festivities were over and a quiet family dinner was enjoyed. Kei and Kazumi joined them, as Feilong pointed out that even as enemies, they had known each other for a long time, and they were both better friends than many that he had now. A number of small serving plates were replenished with portions of delicious food, and one whole course was dedicated to combinations of Feilong's favourite stir fried vegetables in oyster sauced. They were enjoying a brief respite as dinner dishes were removed, and the table was prepared for dessert. Tea and wine was poured and topped up, and several toasts to the birthday boy were made, and finally Feilong himself gave gracious thanks to his guests for helping to make today memorable, and then mentioned how especially thankful he was that this meal wasn't crashed by anyone's ex boyfriend. And that pretty much set the tone for the rest of the evening as the dessert cart was rolled out and carousels of different toppings were placed at strategic points around the table as plated angel food cakes were set before each person. Asami noted how the other bowls had sweets, chopped fruits, various individual favourite treats and whipped cream, while his was dedicated to sliced candied ginger, raspberries, diced kiwi fruit, blackberries, sour cherries and Crème Fraiche. Aki explained how he and Tao had made the desserts themselves, (and nobody better touch their pocky!), and then an overflowing mini cake, heaped with gummie candies, small toys, drenched in whipped cream and topped with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips and sprinkles was presented to Feilong as the candles were added and lit. Photos were taken, another round of wine and toasts, and Feilong was urged to make a wish and blow out the candles. The boys cracked themselves up as they watched Feilong unsuccessfully try to blow out the candles time after time, before the blond finally came clean and told everyone about Tao buying the trick candles. Chuckles and head shakes at the pair were starting to die out when the burned down candles finally went out when suddenly the middle candle sparked back to life. Everyone at the table glanced at the guttering flame when the candle exploded with a loud crack. Everyone jerked back at the sudden noise as an eruption of whipped cream, cake and other detritus splattered Feilong's face and clothes. A shocked triad leader sat stone still as drops of whipped cream dripped from his hair onto his expensive silks. Yoh leaned forward, wiped a smear of cream from his lover's cheek, and observed "You're lucky you didn't get any of this white cream your eyes. That stuff really burns." Everyone sat still for a moment until Asami grinned and laughed, Feilong turned bright red and covered his eyes, while Kazumi completely lost it, and Kei took off his glasses, hiding his face in his hands as his shoulders shook helplessly. Tao was clinging desperately to his chair, fighting for air. Aki managed to snap pictures on his phone when he wasn't snickering so hard he kept trying to drop it, and Yoh calmly stuck his creamed finger in his mouth to suck it clean.

Izaya's Shenanigans

Izaya from now on, we will be using code names. You can address me 'eagle one'

Izaya: Kei will be 'been there, done that'

Izaya: Tao will be 'currently doing that'

Izaya: Feilong will be 'it happened once in a dream'

Izaya: Akihito will be 'if I had to pick a dude'

Izaya: and Asami will be 'eagle two'

Asami: Oh thank gods

Kei: We need someone to fill in for Akihito

Izaya: I think Asami's already filling in Akihito

*Izaya and Feilong snicker and high five*

Asami: I got a new suit, do you all have any thoughts about it?

Akihito: That'll look good on the floor

Asami: "…"

Izaya: Ooo~

Izaya: I didn't think you would be so open…

Akihito: What? I'm saying that suit look ugly on him. What were you – wait NO THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT!


	31. 30 An evening at Macao

Chapter 30: An Evening at the Casino Macao

The night before the Sion Group/Baishe merger announcement, Asami and Akihito spend the evening at Feilong's casino and hotel in Macao.

Asami kissed his kitten softly on his head then turned and walked away, leaving Akihito alone in the mezzanine of the casino. The last minute plan review had finally come around, and Yoh had sent word that Feilong, Kirishima, Suoh and he were already in his office, waiting. As Asami waited for the attendant to summon the private personnel elevator for him, he took one last look over to where his blond was standing, alone in the crowd Asian business moguls and underworld leaders by the balcony French doors, looking so small and vulnerable. Asami's heart tugged at him, his instincts urging him to go comfort and reassure his boy, but Akihito was correct and business needed seeing to. His wildcat had recovered his usual cheeky attitude on his personalized regime of care, attention and numerous orgasms, along with good food and time spent with him and his brothers. And with that thought he made himself leave.

Akihito stood holding his flute of 2005 Belle Époque Rose Champagne. He saw Asami's hesitation and like so many times in the past day he had to reassure his lover that he would be fine on his own. But as soon as his demon left the area, Akihito missed his presence and his heart started to ache somewhat, even though he knew his Asami wouldn't be long. The wealthy and influential people around him didn't like him here. He could tell by their sidelong glances that they thought he shouldn't be here, mingling with them, acting like one of their kind, and that he especially shouldn't be there with the likes of the leaders of both the Sion Group and the Baishe. However, Akihito had learned that the only opinion that actually meant anything to him in the end was Asami's, even over his Baishe brothers, so maybe later he would play the game that Asami always enjoyed the most and rub some noses in the fact that Asami liked to show him off to "his" crowd and gain a few more jealous rivals. Or else let Asami dangle out there like bait for those out hunting for the next backer of their golden dreams. Shaking his head at the thought of the mixed mob that would follow his fiancé's hot, rich ass around (because that's where his wallet was, don't ya know), he decided to have mercy on Fei's alert security and just wait for his man out of the way.

Akihito moved toward the French doors and discretely using his own VIP badge, swiped the card in the security pad by the French doors and escaped the critical eyes of those inside. Stepping out onto the balcony, he looked over the nightscaped garden below, taking in the softly coloured lanterns and pools of discretely lit seating areas amid the darkened pathways winding around down below him. His mind wandered, as always, back to his six foot one lover that was a god among men. His man had power, wealth, looks, strength, a body many would die or kill for, prestige, sex appeal, looks, intelligence, and all at an age where, if he kept playing the game his way, all of that would continue for decades to come. He was an impressive package alright, but he would never tell Asami that; his ego was already the size of the damn planet, and Akihito just was the one lucky enough to get caught up in his gravity well. Taking a sip of Champagne, he thought back to the morning before yesterday when he had almost talked himself into leaving…

**Flashback**

Akihito had slipped unnoticed out of Feilong's compound. Despite it being his second home, his mood inside there deepened his dark thoughts. He needed to escape, clear the cobwebs, see thing differently and get some fresh air. Jogging down to the nearest town, he caught a local bus into the city, and sat with his head against the window, staring out at nothing.

Akihito always blindly headed towards the Museum of Art in the East Tsim Sha Tsui area of the island. Getting off at the Salisbury Road bus terminus, he walked through the Salisbury Garden park and angled towards the back terrace of the building, where he could calm himself overlooking the water of Victoria Harbour. He was far too early for the museum itself to be opened but just being here calmed him. His head was confused and his heart still in turmoil. As he turned the southeast corner of the museum and passed the Avenue of the Stars, he saw a older man and a couple of thugs. Now this was something that Aki understood clearly, and as he drew nearer he could hear the young toughs trying to intimidate the stylish gentleman into giving them his money for their breakfasts. With a grim smile, he waded into the fray to help the older man. Turned out the other fellow hadn't really needed that much help, using his walking stick as a Hanbo ("half staff") to both defend himself and attack while Aki laid into other kids barehanded, and between the two of them they had scattered the troublemakers and put the run on them with nothing worse than bloody noses, bruises and a sprained wrists or two. Akihito felt better after the morning melee, and he was grinning as he turned his attention to the man he'd "rescued". Though in casual clothes, the older gentleman was dressed well, his black hair with a distinctive white stripe was stylishly slicked black, and his cherry amber eyes flickered with amusement as he leaned on his cane. "Now why did you do that? You could have gotten yourself hurt, young fellow", the man said with a smirk. Akihito watched the man, not saying a word; he was taken aback at how this fine looking gentlemen was giving him the once-over, so foreign and yet so familiar. The blond had the fleeting impression that this is what his Ryu would be like in about three decades or so...

Akihito swallowed hard when he realised he'd been staring. "Yeah, sorry if I got in the way of your morning exercise, sir, but it's not in my nature to just stand by if I can help." And that's when the familiar scowl appeared. "Even if it was unnecessary, a simple thank you for the effort is usually considered polite. Well, you seem to be alright, so have a nice day, sir" he said, turning to leave.

"Wait... my apologies, you are right of course, thank you. May I buy you coffee and maybe some breakfast as a reward, young ...?" he enquired, his eyes never leaving the blond's.

"Akihito. Please, just call me Akihito. Thank you, a coffee and pastry sounds nice."

"Now I am sure you are aware, Akihito, that people who are in love do stupid thing. And I must say that this Asami of yours does sound like he's acting quite the fool. I've learned over the years that the richer or more powerful a person is, when they get to a certain age their dreams become simple. I am quite familiar with the dream of world domination that changes into wanting a comfortable life with someone they love. I assure you, Akihito, that this man loves you, that he has been faithful to you, and it sounds like he's ever only loved you. You know this, Akihito, so don't pay any attention to anyone or anything that tells you otherwise. The second worst thing a person can do is to listen to the doubting voices in their head that tell them they're not good enough. The very worst thing one can do is believe them." Waiting until he got a nod of understanding from the shaggy head across from him, he smiled and said " Now, young man, I must be about my day. My car will be coming to pick me up at the Salisbury Garden gate near here. Would you like a ride anywhere?" Thanking the elderly man for breakfast, his time and his advice, Akihito then struck off towards the garden gate and the bus terminus beyond, heading back up into the foothills and home to think. As his car pulled away, the older man had a thoughtful look on his face as he watched the blond head off. As the car pulled up to the front of the museum, he lowered the back window and waited for the roughed-up young men there to approach the vehicle and bow. Removing an envelope from his portfolio on the seat beside him, he addressed the leader of the group, saying "Hopefully you didn't suffer too much damage at our hands. Take this as payment for your troubles, and tell your boss that this pays one of his debts to me." With that, he dismissed the group and had his driver head off.

**…And now, back to our regularly scheduled story**

So today had been three years to the night since he had photographed Asami in that hotel room with that other blond, a three year long journey with many twists and turns, and more than a few dips. Tonight was a good night to put paid to the past and look towards the future, especially considering the typhoon the men he loved, his brother and his fiancé, were going to unleash on an unsuspecting Asia and Europe tomorrow. The calm before the storm, as it were. For the last night of the "old world order", it was a warm, the moon was bright, and the lights dancing on the water were breathtaking. Akihito leaned on the stone railing, idly swirling his nearly empty glass.

Hearing a noise behind him made him jump. Turning around to give whomever was intruding on his privacy a piece of his mind, Akihito instead just stared, gasping in a quick breath. There stood a handsome man partially revealed by the moonlight. The man in front of him smiled softly and spoke, his voice deep and low, making Akihito shiver. "I saw you out here, looking rather lonely. So I brought you a drink and thought I'd ask you why you're here."

Akihito blushed, and shrugged. "Once we got here, my fiancé got called into work."

The man walked nearer and shook his head. "Then he must be an idiot for leaving such a lovely boy alone and unguarded. "

Akihito cheeks flushed darker at the comment, even as he rolled his eyes. "Well, it couldn't be helped. He has important things to prepare for" he replied, turning back to look at the garden below.

The man came to stand closer, his hand holding the other Champagne flute resting on the railing, only inches away from Akihito's.

"He is a fool, then. I wouldn't leave you alone for a moment. What is your name?" he asked, smiling slightly as his eyes roamed over Akihito, pushing the Champagne glass into Akihito's hand.

"My name, huh... I think it's far too early to give you my name" he grinned back as he accepted the drink and sipped it. He did like the taste of this Champagne, it wasn't dry like Asami usually preferred, but had a nice balance of sweet and dry with a hint of blood oranges and pomegranate.

"Well, then permit me keep you company, at least until your companion comes back; that is, if he remembers to come back. These businessmen just can't seem to stop working, especially on a beautiful night like tonight."

Akihito sighed in agreement as he sipped his Champagne. "So why are you here tonight?"

"Mm, well, my lover pushed me to go to work, but then I saw you... I just felt I had to come and talk to you."

"Ah. And what do you want to talk to me about?"

The man moved even closer, then gently tilted Akihito's chin with his fingertips to stare up into his eyes, and just for a moment, they knew what each other was thinking. He leaned in closer and kissed Akihito on the lips.

"I think you are mistaken. My future husband will be back soon, and I wouldn't want to be the cause of a serious misunderstanding" he spoke sharply, moving slightly away.

"Oh, there is no misunderstanding here. He left you alone for what, a meeting with a business partner? Ridiculous. Please, tell me your name."

Akihito could not help it as his body moved closer. "Akihito... my friends call me Akihito."

"Am I a friend, Akihito?" Each word felt like silk slipping over Akihito's skin as he nodded his head.

"Your fiancé, are you two close, or is it for convenience?"

Rolling his eyes again, the blond grinned. "Well, he can be an asshole sometimes."

"If he doesn't treat you right, why are you together? You deserve better " his taller companion asserted, frowning slightly as he sipped his Champagne.

"He cares about me, and takes very good care of me, I guess. He's just a very possessive, manipulative, conceited, jealous, condescending, stubborn bastard" he snapped, catching his breath.

"Oh. Are those his good points? You seem to be having issues. Seeing as how we are being so honest, my own lover acts like a princess. He demands my attention twenty-four hours a day, he acts like a spoiled, stubborn, child that can be deceitful and prickly. If I manage to have five minutes of alone time in a day, he ruins it by doing something so stupid I have to rush in and look after him."

Akihito stood still for moment. That was far too close to home. He was about to say good night when his suitor asked him a question: "Do you believe in love at first sight?" Perplexed by the question, Akihito stood frozen, looking up at the tall man.

"If you'd asked me that three years ago, my answer would have been 'no', but now, I sometimes believe it can be true... Why?"

"Because when I saw you across the crowed room, you took my breath away. I believe I've fallen in love with Akihito." His lips were soft as he kissed Akihito, pouring everything he had into the kiss. When he pulled away, he swiped a tear from Akihito's cheek. Caught in the moment, orchestra music playing in the background, a handsome man whispering love to him out on a balcony bathed with the silver light of the moon, Akihito was speechless. 'OMG', he thought dimly, 'just stick a pair of breasts on me, 'cause I'm turning into a woman.' No words were spoken as the man took hold of Akihito's wrist, where he could feel the boy's pulse race.

"Akihito, would you like to accompany me around the garden? On such a beautiful night, it should be lovely. "

"I'm pretty sure I shouldn't go anywhere with you. I feel like this a snare, and the bait is far too tempting."

"Akihito, you would be right. I do want to ensnare you, to make you mine. So please, will you come with me?"

Akihito swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down in his throat. Then nodding silently, he stood on his tiptoes and leaned upwards. Holding onto his suitor's tie for balance, Akihito kissed the man deeply, then whispered "yes".

Holding Akihito's hand as they walked toward the bedroom, the man left Akihito standing near the window looking out over the moonlit water when he went to dim the lights. As the man walked up behind him, he reached around the lithe blond to help take off his tuxedo jacket, then he undid his bow tie and started undoing the buttons on his shirt. He slid it off his shoulders and down his arms as he kissed the nape of the boy's neck, then moved across his shoulders, down over the shoulder blade then further down to his spine. As he came to the belt he knelt down and again reached around to undo it. Akihito was about to turn to face him, when strong hands stopped him, holding him in place. Kissing the boy's lower back softly, he breathed "stay still" against Aki's skin as the boy shivered and moaned. Undoing then removing the belt, he then undid his pants and helped Akihito step out of first his pants, then his boxer briefs. Tasting the creamy skin, his tongue started to flick against the boy's back and the bumps of his spine. Kisses continued down over the dimples above his smooth bottom and along the backs of his thighs. The blond shook and whimpered at the sensations as goosebumps broke out over his skin. The man slowly moved back up and massaged the blond's ass cheeks as he rested his forehead against the boy's back.

"Lie down", he directed and Akihito moved forward, crawling onto the bed and lay front side down with the his face to the side. Undressing quickly, the tall man straddled Akihito's thighs, his hands touching every inch of the boy's skin, followed by kisses, nibbles and licks. Akihito groaned, tensing and stretching, rubbing himself against the bedding. Gasping, the boy started making short, desperate noises as the different touches drove him wild, writhing against the bed. Groaning himself, the taller man lay down against the boy, trapping him beneath his bigger body. Feeling the movement of the boy's ass rubbing against him made the man's stomach muscles clench tight as he closed his eyes and softly grunted. Akihito started rutting against the mattress, keening at the stimulating pleasure. Pushing off the blond, the large male rolled onto his side, pulling the boy against his front as one hand rubbed over his chest, softly touching his pecs, then circling around to roam over his arm muscles, then back up to tease his sensitive nipples with fingertips and nails as his other arm wrapped around Akihito's hip and gently palmed his hard on, softly rubbing the boy's cock with his large cupped hand, all while softly kissing Aki's neck. All the gentle stimulation was driving the boy up. the fuckin'. wall. Akihito couldn't take it anymore and didn't mind letting that fact be known to all and sundry.

"Fuckin' hell, Ryuichi! Move that muscled ass of yours and fuck me properly! NOW!"

"Kitten, I thought you were enjoying your romantic little play. I must say, you've lasted much longer than I thought you would have. Far longer than if I had succeeded in coaxing you into the garden…"

"Enough talking, more fucking! Ryu, please!"

"Mm, as you wish, my cute Aki-hi-to…"

"Did you mean what you said about me being spoiled?" Cuddling closer to Asami's large chest, Akihito asked, only being half serious.

Asami huffed. "No, I'm fact, I do wish you would let me spoil you more. Most of the time I only get to spoil you when something happens and you were in danger. Then you become docile when you realise what could have happened to either of us. Or both of us. As much as I love your defiant side, you being in danger? Not so much..." he mused, running his fingers up and down Akihito's spine.

"Well, I didn't mean what I said."

"Oh yes you did; plus, I believe you missed a few."

"Yeah, you're right, I did." A rumble vibrated under Akihito's chest. Then Akihito snickered and started to giggle too.

"Ryuichi, do you believe in love at first sight?" he whispered. Peering up at his blond, he wrapped his strong arms around his boy's torso and pulled him in tight. Being kissed so passionately, Akihito couldn't help but know to his scrunched up toes that he was loved. "Fine. I will try for a few days every month to be more… amenable for you."

"Pbfft. You'll never last. "

"So rude. As I was saying, I'll try every month to be spoiled by you; however, you are not allowed to buy me anything l would think is outrageously expensive."

"Well that lasted less than one full minute."

Raising an eyebrow, his kitten pouted. "Hey, this is gonna be difficult for me."

"Akihito. I will make time for a few days every month to spoil you, okay? At this time, you will let me do whatever I wish for you. You may protest, once, for up to ten minutes; however, after that, whatever I give or do for you will not be negotiable. Understand?"

Laying his head back down on Asami's chest, feeling his heart beat, Akihito didn't say a word. Asami was about to speak when he heard Akihito's voice, sounding so very small, agree. "Alright, Ryuichi."

"So, did you enjoy your little romance, my sweet kitten?"

"I enjoyed the end result. Damn, this time I am not moving from the bed until the day after tomorrow. Or the day after that, maybe."

Chuckling, Asami looked down at his little lover fondly as he rubbed his lower back muscles gently. "Don't get carried away, Kitten. Remember, tomorrow is the big day, and you get to shine brightest of all. Plus, I'm not sure how we'd manage to get this bed on the plane back to Tokyo with you still in it. And I don't think your big brother would like me if I had to shoot his men because they saw your naked body if the sheet blew off."

Snorting softly, Aki shrugged. "But, he'd probably understand. You're both such jealous pricks." The blond lay still, relaxed as the his man laughed underneath him, jostling him around a bit. His mind was elsewhere, thinking of how much both his men had come together and invested in making their group merger work. He also went over his own plans for tomorrow evening, and bit his bottom lip at the thought that not everyone was going to be happy with the results...

Kitkat (Izaya's keeper) did apologise for this, but I doubt it's very sincere…

Asami and Akihito were peacefully sleeping together in a bundle until Asami began to have a rather unusual dream, or nightmare, as the case may be. It was the day of their wedding, and so far everything was going smoothly, but Asami couldn't stop a little nugget of dread building up in his chest. People were rushing around getting last minute details ready, making sure all the tables had place settings and seats were properly assigned. Asami looked at the archway where he and his Akihito would officially be bound together forever. A small smile played on his face as he thought about kissing his lover on the lips passionately in front of all their family and friends. Looking around their wedding location, he is quick to note what looks like another wedding taking place in an area outside of their garden, closer to the beach. Curiously, he moved over to investigate. The bride and groom seemed like ordinary people, and it looked like it was going to be a lovely ceremony. On a whim, he was about to go up and congratulate them, probably offer them a (for him) token wedding gift, only to be stopped by a quietly panicking Kei. "What's seems to be the matter, Kei?"

His best friend and Best Man tried to think of the best way to word his dilemma. "Ryuichi, it seems like our officiate has gone missing. No one's been able to locate him, it's as if he's vanished into thin air." Asami frowned, glaring at nothing. He wanted his wedding to be perfect, and nothing is going to ruin him getting married to the one he loved.

Asami tried to calm himself down. "Whatever happens, don't let anyone else know, especially Akihito. Looks like we may have to find a new marriage official, but where would you be able to get one at such short notice? I assume the hotel wasn't able to arrange for a replacement?" They tried wracking their brains for ideas, only to come up empty.

Finally, Kei noticed the other wedding taking place, and a sudden light bulb appeared. "Why don't we ask their priest to do your wedding too? True, it's a different belief, but he can make your marriage legal, and I highly doubt they would refuse…". Asami began to think about the idea. He seemed hesitant on agreeing, but right now it was the only solution. They began to go through the crowd, focusing on the familiar cloth worn by the priest. Quickly advancing

towards the male who was currently at the buffet table, stuffing his face and drinking wine. Asami raised an eyebrow and privately questioned if he was the appropriate one to ask. However..., "Excuse me, Father?" The priest turned around to reveal someone Asami really didn't want to see there. "Izaya, what are you doing this time?!"

The male in question raised an eyebrow. "Izaya? I'm sorry, but I think you have me mistaken for someone else. My name is Father Richard, but everyone calls me Father Dick."

T.B.C…


End file.
